If there is one fight fans would have loved to see in the UFC lightweight division then it is the cursed fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.
UFC has booked the fight five times and every time due to some unfortunate circumstances Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson would fall off.
Khabib Nurmagomedov was last scheduled to defend the UFC lightweight title against Tony Ferguson at UFC 249. The fans were certain that finally, they will witness two of the greatest lightweights at the moment compete inside the UFC octagon.
However, due to COVID restrictions, Khabib Nurmagomedov could not come to the United States and defend his title against Tony Ferguson. There were a lot of controversies surrounding Khabib Nurmagomedov going to Dubai ahead of his fight.
Though Khabib Nurmagomedov has retired from the sport and Tony Ferguson has been on a decline in his career since UFC 249, the rivalry between the two still exists.
In a recent Instagram post, Tony Ferguson mocked Khabib Nurmagomedov and said he was scared before the fight at UFC 249 and hence chose to go to Dubai.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CTjM2IJg3fv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Why Did Khabib Nurmagomedov go to Dubai Ahead of UFC 249?
The world saw a pandemic outbreak right before UFC 249. And as a result, UFC was struggling to book the venue for UFC 249 as there were a lot fo restrictions because of COVID-19.
And as per Khabib Nurmagomedov, UFC was planning to book UFC 249 at Abu Dhabi and that’s why he went to Dubai ahead of the fight. The Eagle stated:
“I come to the US, train 40 days. Then when everything go crazy, they say ‘US 100% no fight. Then we move to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, why? They told me 99% it will be in Dubai.”
After The Eagle pulled out of UFC 249, Justin Gaethje was set to fight Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 for the interim lightweight title.
Judging from the last three fights of Tony Ferguson, it might seem that Khabib would have dominated him had they ever fought. However, if Tony Ferguson would have fought Khabib a few years ago then the outcome might would have gone in the favour of El Cucuy.
Khabib has certainly improved a lot through out the years in both striking and grappling department. Though he was an elite fighter in the early part of his career his striking defence was not as good as it is now.