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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Ben Davies

Tony Ferguson warned Khabib Nurmagomedov would have "ruined his life" if they had fought

Tony Ferguson has been warned that Khabib Nurmagomedov would have "ruined his life" if the pair had met in the UFC.

The pair were bitter rivals throughout their careers but Nurmagomedov hung up his gloves in 2020 as an undefeated lightweight champion.

A meeting came close to taking place between the pair five times before being cancelled on each occasion.

And MMA manager Abdelaziz believes Nurmagomedov would have beaten Ferguson if the pair did meet, tweeting: "You only keep talking about Khabib to stay relevant, he would’ve ruined your life if you ever fought him.

"I wish you nothing but the best in your life, I’m not even going to respond to you anymore."

(Zuffa LLC)

Ferguson had incited the row with Abdelaziz after posting a video labelled 'cooking with Khabib' which mocked the former lightweight star's career in the UFC.

The manager quickly responded: "You are so jealous like an old girlfriend, she can get man.”

Ferguson continued the war of words : “You’re saying it wrong. Thought I taught you better you th*t. You a**oles forget where you get your phrases from like any other casual.

"Sit down and shut up before I ankle pick you. *Mack* more Annoying than a clingy ex, fatheads done staying relevant- Champ -CSO-“

Nurmagomedov was first set to meet Nurmagomedov in 2015 at the finale of the Ultimate Fighters 22 contest but was ultimately forced out with a rib injury suffered in training.

The clash was booked a year later for the second time with Ferguson pulling out on this occasion citing a lung issue as the reason for his withdrawal.

Who would have won if Khabib fought Tony Ferguson? Let us know your opinion in the comments section below

Another year passed with many now seeing the next booked event as "third time lucky" as the co-main event of UFC 209, but was subsequently hospitalised with weight-management issues.

This has been frequently used by Ferguson as a mocking jibe with the pair going back and forth over their respective withdrawals.

It was subsequently booked for a fourth time but in another remarkable turn of events, Ferguson required surgery on a cruciate ligament injury and had to withdraw again.

The most recent scheduling of the clash was for April 2020 in Las Vegas with the pair finally set to put fans out of their misery and make the fight happen.

However Justin Gaethje was forced to step in due to Nurmagomedov being unable to travel to American during the coronavirus pandemic.

This fight was later made on Fight Island which Nurmagomedov won and later announced his retirement from the sport with his victory marking his final cage outing.

Ferguson is now set to face lightweight contender Michael Chandler later this year as he looks to make a winning return to action.

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