Outside Source
Ferguson and Nurmagomedov’s rivalry is one of the biggest what-ifs in UFC history. A fight between the two never came to fruition despite being matched up five times during their prime. Despite their rivalry, Ferguson recalls almost becoming friends with Nurmagomedov on one occasion.
Ferguson defeated Anthony Pettis at UFC 229, the same card where Nurmagomedov defended his lightweight title against McGregor in 2018. “El Cucuy” recalls running into McGregor during the weigh-ins. While McGregor was his usual boisterous self, the Irishman allegedly turned away each time he saw Ferguson. Whereas, Ferguson claims Nurmagomedov was the only fighter who could meet his eye. As Ferguson was walking past Nurmagomedov, he offered to beat up McGregor for “The Eagle.” That was the last time Ferguson talked to Nurmagomedov.
Did We Just Become Best Friends
“The only time we were close enough to being friends was when I was walking out of the Pettis fight at the weigh-ins,” Ferguson recently told Helen Yee. “I had seen Conor two to three times. Each time I saw Conor, he was acting all cocky. And as soon as he saw me he would turn around and look like he s—t himself. I saw him a couple of times like that, he just didn’t have the character. But when I saw Khabib, Khabib was the only one that kind of looked at me. And I saw him on the way out and I was like, ‘Hey, I’m gonna go f—k him up. You don’t, I’m gonna do it. And that was the last time I talked to Khabib.”
Ferguson (25-11) won only once more in the UFC before suffering an iconic beatdown against Justin Gaethje. Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov (29-0) retired in 2020 as the undefeated champion after defending his title against Gaethje. Nurmagomedov had correctly predicted that Ferguson would never be the same fighter after his loss to Gaethje. Ferguson never won again in the UFC and retired from the promotion on an eight-fight losing streak, the longest in UFC history.
Ferguson has since signed up with the Global Fight League, which has yet to host an event. Ferguson made his pro boxing debut at Misfits this past August, stopping influencer Nathaniel Bustamante, aka Salt Papi, in the third round. Ferguson is scheduled to make his sophomore boxing appearance against Warren Spencer at Misfits Mania on Dec. 20 in Dubai.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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