Thursday’s UFC 209 media call was most notable for the war of words between Ferguson and Nurmagomedov, prompting the latter to declare their upcoming fight as the greatest lightweight match up of all time
Tony Ferguson certainly sees the bout as worthy of taking the top spot on next week’s bill:
“You guys are going to see f—-ing fireworks. This should be the main event,” Ferguson said. “I don’t know why Stephen Thompson and Tyron Woodley are the main event. This is the sh*t everybody’s talking about.”
While not many will dispute the order of the card seeing the welterweight championship rematch between Tyron Woodley and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson taking precedent on March 4, Ferguson and Nurmagomedov could quite easily headline any pay-per-view event.
Both men enter the octagon in hot form. Ferguson is riding a nine fight winning streak, including six finishes, while Khabib has eight straight wins and has never been beaten in his professional career. It is not hyperbole to suggest that this fight is one of the most anticipated fights that can happen in the UFC. This is a sentiment which is recognised by both fighters. Nurmagomedov explained:
“A lot people are waiting for this fight. This is real high level. In my opinion, this is the greatest matchup in lightweight history in the UFC,” Nurmagomedov said. “I don’t want to talk too much about this fight. Everybody knows I made this fight. Tony knows I made this fight. He tried to run away.”
Nurmagomedov is regarded as one of the most dangerous men in MMA. The Dagestani is renowned for his grappling skills, which are spearheaded by his awesome sambo. This does not worry Ferguson, however:
“I’ve got 20-plus years doing this sport, man. I did so well in it I took up other sports. I got bored with wrestling. I loved it and I did it so long, I wanted to learn how to box,” Ferguson said. “This guy has no chance against my wrestling. He thinks sambo is awesome? I’ve got respect for the sport, I’ve got respect for where he comes from, but my wrestling is far superior. My style is just completely different than his. I’m gonna run circles all over this guy.”
Ferguson added that Nurmagomedov’s fans are going to be disappointed, come the end of their fight next week:
“He’s the next in line. Doubt never got me here and nobody else ever held my hand to get me here. My f—-ing hard work, my determination, and my finishing people has gotten me here. I’m gonna finish this dude like I did everybody else,” Ferguson said. “I’m not even gonna tell you how. I’m not like anybody else. This guy wants to talk about trying to break me and he says I talk too much? You’ve got 1.9 million people that are going to be sad as f—k when I go in there and finish your ass.”
