TONY FERGUSON HOPES FOR A POIRIER FINISH AGAINST KHABIB
Both Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier have agreed that Tony Ferguson deserves a shot at the UFC lightweight championship. While Khabib and Tony were slated to fight multiple times, the fight never came to fruition. That’s why it’s not a surprise that Tony is hoping Poirier gets the W over Khabib at UFC 242. Not only does he want Dustin to win, but also Tony hopes for a finish over Khabib.
Ferguson spoke to Ariel Helwani on the Helwani MMA Show that aired last Monday.
Tony spoke about his hiatus from the limelight and mentioned building his academy as one of the primary reasons for it. He then went on to mention how his unique relationship with the fans was a natural connection.
As the interview progressed, Helwani mentioned how he heard that Ferguson could be a replacement fighter on the Abu Dhabi card if Khabib vs Poirier we to fall through.
“First of all, I’m not (a) backup for anybody. I got 12 fights in a row dude, f**k that, you know what I mean? It was talked about (and) I was kind of interested, but at the end of the day I’m not here to be (a) backup,” said Ferguson.
Ariel then told Tony the information that Khabib said he would like to get in one more fight before the year ended. He asked Tony if he would like the idea of fighting Khabib on the December 14th card.
“Aye, (Khabib) has to win first.”, replied Ferguson. “Hopefully Dustin gets a piece of him and throws him on his back and puts him away so that we can a good ol’ American fu**ing battle.” Tony went on say, “Either Dustin or Khabib, (a) title shot next December, Las Vegas, let’s make it happen UFC brass.”
Tony Confirmed His Statements
Ariel asked once more if Tony hopes Dustin wins the fight. Ferguson reemphasized his statement by saying how he’s cool with Dustin and how he respects the American Top Team.
“He’s cool,” said Tony in regards to Dustin. ” He’s out of (American) Top Team, one of the gyms I wanted to go and train at, I haven’t had the opportunity to. I fought a couple of people out of there. (They’re a) Solid team man. They got a good bunch of people there, man. Champions,” Ferguson said.
Whether Tony Gets His Wish is Yet to Be Determined
Ferguson will be ready. No matter the opponent. Even though he would prefer to fight Dustin, chances are that response was due to the amount of bad juju surrounding the pairing of Tony and Khabib. The fight was canceled on two separate occasions at UFC 209 and UFC on Fox 19.
No matter the outcome of the fight, Tony Ferguson will be ready. If it’s Dustin, fine. If it’s Khabib, that’s fine too. Ferguson hopes to be eagerly be waiting for the winner in December.
