Tony Ferguson is still pushing for a fight with longtime UFC rival Khabib Nurmagomedov despite the Russian being retired.
Ferguson and former UFC champion Nurmagomedov have been scheduled to fight five times in the promotion, but the cursed booking has never taken place. They were first pencilled in to fight seven years ago, with their last failed attempt in 2020.
Despite Nurmagomedov being retired, their rivalry lives on, as Ferguson continues to try and call the Russian out of retirement. He proposed that if the pair can't fight each other, they could be opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter or settle their rivalry in a different sport.
"I talk about Khabib, he's still f****ng fat anyway," Ferguson told Submission Radio. "Maybe one day, I would love to coach against him in The Ultimate Fighter. That's what I'd really love to do. If he doen't fight, I'd love to be able to compete against him in whatever.
Do you still want to see Tony Ferguson fight Khabib Nurmagomedov? Let us know in the comments section below
"Wrestleball, basketball, soccer. You put your best team together, I've got my team. Any kind of sport, you can pick it Khabib. We'll go out there and we'll kick your ass. Out of due respect, enjoy your retirement."
Nurmagomedov promised his mother to never fight again after his father, Abdulmanap, passed away following a long battle with Covid-19 complications. 'The Eagle' defended his belt against Justin Gaethje for the final time and vacated the title the following year.
He has purchased and rebranded his own MMA promotion, Eagle FC. Nurmagomedov is also coaching several fighters at the American Kickboxing Academy in California and insists he has no interest in fighting again.
Ferguson says that despite their rivalry, he would be willing to sit down and challenge Nurmaogmedov to any sort of game. "I like what he's doing for the sport, he opened up his own promotion. I've got props for him like that," he continued.
"He lost his pops, respect to him for that. At the end of the day, his dad said he would have loved for us to compete. Regardless if that's MMA, chess, checkers it doesn't matter.
"I have enough respect and enough cool to be able to sit down at a game table and to play a game like that, that's man s***. A lot of people don't have that, but it's guys like me that have to represent this sport."
