Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov is a fight many fans didn’t get the opportunity to see. It ranks at the top of dream MMA fights that never happened. Many fans had different ideas about how the fight could have gone, given their primes. In a recent interview, Nurmagomedov dismissed any speculation that he may lose to Ferguson.
Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from UFC in 2020 with a perfect record of 29-0 with three UFC lightweight title defenses. He dominated everybody that came against him. According to the ‘Eagle,’ the same would have happened to Ferguson. Nurmagomedov believed that he was a stylistic nightmare for a striking heavy fighter like Ferguson.
“My game is worse for him, he doesn’t have wrestling, grappling so what’s he gonna do with me? How’s he gonna stop me? Only chance he’d have to stop me is a lucky punch…” – Khabib Nurmagomedov via Inspire Me Podcast
Nurmagomedov gave the example of how Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje, and Dustin Poirier all thought about winning against him. However, nobody could come close to beating after getting mauled by the Dagestani. Stylistically, all these fighters are similar to Tony Ferguson, and the MMA math is quite easy here.
Nevertheless, it’s important to note that Ferguson, in his prime, was an unstoppable beast. He went on a twelve-fight win streak and dismantled all his opponents. A fight between him and Nurmagomedov would definitely have been an interesting one. However, prime Ferguson is long gone, and what’s left is just a shadow of the past.
When Khabib Nurmagomedov predicted Tony Ferguson’s downfall
Tony Ferguson lost his winning streak after losing to Justin Gaethje via TKO. While many fans thought ‘El Cucuy’ would make a strong comeback, it never happened. Ferguson tried his best, but now he stands with a record eight-fight losing streak. With his last loss against Michael Chiesa this month, Ferguson broke BJ Penn‘s record of longest losing streak.
In the Justin Gaethje fight, Tony Ferguson took a lot of damage, and the same continued with his brutal knockout loss against Michael Chandler. In 2020, Khabib Nurmagomedov, in an interview, mentioned that the downfall of Ferguson had just started.
“Nobody can be same long time. Tony Ferguson’s time is finished. Now, he gonna come back someone gonna beat him again. Because when you take damage like this you never gonna be same. Even if you Tony Ferguson.” – Khabib Nurmagomedov via ESPN
Fans had little idea how accurate Nurmagomedov’s statements would be. According to Ferguson, one of the primary causes of his demotivation was Nurmagomedov’s exit from the sport. Although both fighters have consistently engaged in trash talk, their mutual respect is evident. Nurmagomedov recently wished Ferguson a happy retirement, but the fighter has no intentions of hanging up his gloves just yet.