Tony Ferguson doubts former UFC rival Khabib Nurmagomedov will accept his offer to coach against him on The Ultimate Fighter.
Ferguson has continued to challenge longtime rival Nurmagomedov despite the Russian officially retiring from fighting last year. 'El Cucuy' is doubtful that Nurmagomedov will fight him, so has opted to challenge him to coach TUF against him instead.
Nurmagomedov accepted the offer and told Ferguson to "call his bosses" about it. The now-retired UFC legend also welcomed Ferguson to do "business" with his own MMA promotion, Eagle FC.
"Tony I like the idea about TUF," Nurmagomedov wrote. "Call your bosses and let them make an offer, but if they don’t have ideas, I myself will offer you a deal on the Eagle Fight Club platform, we doing some business here you know."
But Ferguson is doubtful that Nurmagomedov will follow through with his promise, writing: "Greatest at avoiding a real fight check it out I’m the B.O.A.T. that’s the best of all time. We accept the TUF offer coaching against fathead, I’m sure he won’t show up like UFC 249, watch."
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Ferguson and Nurmagomedov were scheduled to fight five time in the UFC during the pair's time at the top of the 155lb division. Injuries to both men cancelled four bookings, with the last being scratched because of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Nurmagomedov went on to retire from fighting after his father, Abdulmanap, passed away. Ferguson has since lost four consecutive fights, being knocked out by Michael Chandler at UFC 274 in his most recent bout.
'The Eagle' thinks coaching TUF against Ferguson is a good idea because of the lack of "stars" in the UFC. With the likes of Conor McGregor and Jon Jones inactive, Nurmagomedov thinks the opportunity would provide good content for fight fans.
"I like this idea to be honest," he told ESPN MMA. "We can do some stuff because right now [there's not] too many big stars in the UFC. Even myself I'm finished, Jon Jones is not there, Henry Cejudo not there, Daniel Cormier not there.
"I don't like this guy but he has a big name, Conor's not there. A lot of people are not there. [Israel[ Adesanya, [Alex] Volkanovski, of course [Francis] Ngannou, and my brother, pound for pound king Kamaru Usman.
"There's only like maybe a few people. If me and Tony were in The Ultimate Fighter coach, I think they can create some good content."
