Tony Ferguson is not giving up in his efforts to lure retired UFC rival Khabib Nurmagomedov back into the cage.
Ferguson, who fights Li Jingliang at UFC 279 this Saturday, has continued to call out bitter rival Nurmagomedov despite the Russian officially retiring from fighting last year. The pair were first scheduled to fight seven years ago, but the cursed matchup was cancelled five times and it seems unlikely they will ever meet in the octagon.
With Nurmagomedov insisting he will never fight again, Ferguson suggested the pair should be opposing coaches on the UFC's reality television programme The Ultimate Fighter. Nothing has come of the proposed idea but Ferguson is still confident he can get 'The Eagle' out of retirement.
"I am the one to get him out of retirement,” Ferguson told reporters. “That dude’s not retired. When it comes down to it, when you lose somebody, you have to take some time off, you have to think and you have to do whatever you have to do but his father had said the fight to make was myself and Khabib. Before he passed away, he did say that and Khabib has that in his mindset.”
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Nurmagomedov retired from fighting with a flawless record of 29-0, promising his mother he wouldn't fight again following the passing of his father Abdulmanap. Nurmagomedov is considered one of the greatest fighters of all-time, ending his career as the lightweight champion before vacating the title last March.
Ferguson claimed Nurmagomedov's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, gave him the go ahead for his coaching offer. “We got the green light. “We’re waiting on Khabib’s fat a**. I actually called him Khabib. Did you guys hear that s***? We’re waiting on Fathead’s fat a** and I’m going to be real with you, we got the green light from the brass, went and talked to them. We got the green light from his coach. We got the green light from his agent," he added.
"His agent comes up and tries to hug me, he was all in pink, f****** looked like Pinky from Friday. It was funny as f***. You can spot him anywhere. He comes up and he’s like ‘let’s do this.’ In reality, we’re just waiting for Khabib’s fat ass. He’s the one that’s scared. “Whether it’s a fight or not, we’ll go and coach and I’m sure we’ll make it entertaining. He’ll break before the fighters around that team and I’ve still got some good material that I haven’t used yet so I’m just waiting for that thing.”
Ferguson looks to break a three-fight losing skid this Saturday as he fights at 170lb for the first time in over a decade, with Conor McGregor recently mocking his physique at the weight class. Since retiring from fighting, Nurmagomedov has become a coach for several fighters and has also launched his own MMA promotion, Eagle FC.
