Khabib Nurmagomedov believes that old rival Tony Ferguson is "not smart enough" to put together a deal for the pair to coach on The Ultimate Fighter.
Nurmagomedov vs Ferguson was one of the greatest 'what if' fights in MMA history during the pair's primes. Both men were forced to pull out of scheduled bouts with the other on four occasions with injuries and weight cut issues, before their final planned fight in April 2019 was scuppered by the coronavirus pandemic.
And now with the Russian having retired and Ferguson staring down the end of his career following four straight losses in the promotion, the pair are looking to reignite their feud one last time. They have floated the idea of coaching together on The Ultimate Fighter reality show, which Nurmagomedov has seemingly agreed to.
But speaking with MMA Underground ahead of this weekend's Eagle FC event, the former lightweight champion was sceptical of Ferguson's ability to make the deal happen. "I don't hate this guy, you know," Nurmagomedov insisted. I like him. But he does have little bit of brain problem, I think.
"This is my opinion, but for him, this is good. Because he's 38 he doesn't need to compete with all these lions. They're young, they're hungry, he's like 38, just come with me, make money, do like some Ultimate Fighter show, be coach, be nice. For him, for his kids, for his family, it's going be better. But I don't think he is smart enough to do business with me."
Nurmagomedov's comments come after Ferguson laid down the gauntlet for he and the Russian to finally compete, years after it seemed that their feud was coming to an end. The undefeated former champion has ruled out ever returning to the octagon after his mother begged him to retire following his father's passing, but has become a respected coach in recent years.
And Ferguson believes he has better skills in that department, offering a different type of competition during a recent interview on The MMA Hour. “I believe that when his dad said we were supposed to compete, I believe that," he told host Ariel Helwani.
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"I would love to be able to coach against him in The Ultimate Fighter, how about that? You know, best man wins on the team. I guarantee my coaching is a lot better than yours, Khabib. Not a lot of people understand that.”
“I built a team for a 12-fight win streak, and I can definitely build a team again. I have nothing personal against him, besides him running away for the pandemic and being a scared dude, but I've got to respect that family [comes] first.”
Ferguson was most recently defeated by Michael Chandler at UFC 274 in Phoenix, and it remains to be seen what is next for his fighting career. He was once believed to be Nurmagomedov's kryptonite, but the pair could never settle their feud in the octagon and the Russian retired undefeated in 2020.
