Tony Ferguson Thinks Khabib Should be Stripped of His Championship
By now, it’s pretty clear that Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov won’t be fighting. Fool fans once, shame on the UFC. Fool fans twice, shame on the fighters. But, fool people over five times and the situation becomes a lost cause. Or does it? Regardless of all the freak accidents and global viral disasters, Tony Ferguson thinks that Khabib should be stripped of his UFC Lightweight title. Especially because Ferguson thinks that Nurmagomedov ran away when the fight was in good shape to happen.
Tony has already previously expressed that he thinks Khabib is afraid of the fight. In fact, he said that he thought Khabib bailed out once he flew back to Russia. From that point on, he was skeptical that the fight would take place. And, it looks like he was right about the latter.
However, fighters like Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier have made it known that they would step in if given the opportunity. Whether or not Tony would be willing to take those fights is up to him, but one thing is for sure on his end. He thinks that Khabib should be stripped of his title.
Tony on Khabib Being Stripped
During an interview with Ariel Helwani of ESPN, he expressed his thoughts on Khabib, UFC 249, and the Lightweight title.
“Obviously, I was very upset (in regards to the fight being off against Khabib.) I feel more for everybody else that’s actually going through some hard times,” said Tony.
“It’s a little bit different, of course, I’m a little bit pissed. He had the opportunity to stay here. He was in Abu Dhabi, he had his chance to be able to come back before the borders were closed in Russia. (Khabib) decided to go back to Dagestan did not finish his camp. The guy does not want to fight. He’s scared, he’s running. He should be stripped of his title,” finished Tony.
The Likelihood of Stripping Khabib
More than likely, Khabib won’t be stripped of his lightweight title. Usually, that happens when a fighter is out of action for more than a year, or they’re out with a bad injury. It would be strange to see Nurmagomedov be stripped of his title for following the global directions of world leaders and staying inside. Then again, crazier things have happened.