In the main event of UFC 223, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will finally do the battle, which is set to take place on April 7th, 2018 from the Barclays, Center. There was title uncertainty situation is still blurred, and if the two would be fighting for the interim or undisputed title.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is a perfect 25-0 with a UFC record of 9-0. He’s made the best fighters look average and in each of his performances he’s been consistently exceptional.
Tony Ferguson is 25-3 with a 13-1 record inside the UFC. He’s riding on a 10 fight win.
The two lightweight dynamites have been slated to meet multiple times before, but injuries have always forced the UFC to scrap the bout. Now, however, both men appear to be healthy, and fight fans can only hope that remains the case as fight night nears.
Tony Ferguson, the interim lightweight champ recently speaking to MMA Hour, where he explains his plan how he will finish his longtime rival.
“I’m going to f*cking go Mike Tyson on this b*tch,” Ferguson said on a recent edition of The MMA Hour. “Go back and watch my old footage, man. Go back and watch my old fights. I knocked people out at 170 pounds. I’ve seen Khabib, I think he was wearing platform shoes when we were over there facing off. That dude has an issue if he’s trying to compensate like that, so he’s already lost. So I’m going to finish this guy in distinct fashion.
“I’m not going to try to hurt him too much. I mean, I think we’re past that point of animosity where we needed so much anger to f*cking train for this. Hopefully, we can have some fun and be a little bit more lighthearted in camp so nobody gets injured. Please, AKA, don’t hurt your f*cking boy, because you guys are notorious for that sh*t, and show up and make some weight. I know you have the world’s best weight-cutting guy besides myself, because I’m number-f*cking-one. So show up, dude, do your sh*t, and let’s have a good fight.”
For Dagestan native, grappling is his one clear advantage. It’s going to be the deciding factor of the fight. If he’s able to control Tony Ferguson like he has done with all his opponent, he could have this fight in his kitty, who recently ground and pound Brazilian Edson Barboza at UFC 219.
Although both have excellent cardio, however, Ferguson also has the slight edge on stand-up, so let’s see how this play out.
“It would be nice to finish Khabib via liver shots, wouldn’t it? I just want to see him wincing in pain on the ground where he belongs,” Ferguson said.
Who do you think will come out victorious?