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Tony Ferguson blasted Khabib Nurmagomedov after the UFC lightweight champion chose to self-quarantine in Russia over defending his title against Ferguson at UFC 249 on April 18.
“The guy does not want to fight,” Ferguson said. “He’s scared. He’s running. He should be stripped of his title.”
This is the fifth time the star-crossed matchup between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson has fallen through. Nurmagomedov is the UFC’s 155-pound champ. He’s also ranked No. 2 on the men’s pound-for-pound list and undefeated in 28 total fights.
Meanwhile, Ferguson is the No. 1 contender in the division, has won 12 straight UFC fights and has not suffered a defeat since 2012.
Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson was one of the most hotly anticipated fights of the year. Now, it’s for sure not happening.
‘He Already Knew That He Wasn’t Going to Fight’
After reports surfaced that Russia’s travel ban might not keep Nurmagomedov from leaving the country via private jet, Nurmagomedov announced on Instagram Wednesday he was for sure pulling out of UFC 249 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That angered Ferguson.
“Obviously, I was very upset,” Ferguson said. “I feel more for everybody else that’s actually going through some hard times. It’s a little bit different, of course, I’m a little bit pissed. He had the opportunity to stay here.”
Ferguson believes Nurmagomedov should have done everything in his power to make the fight happen. He believes the 31-year-old Russian had the opportunity to leave Russia before that country’s cross-border ban was put into place and that Nurmagomedov purposely didn’t take it.
“He was in Abu Dhabi,” said Ferguson. “He had his chance to be able to come back before the borders were closed in Russia. He decided to go back to Dagestan, (and) did not finish his camp.”
For Ferguson, all those things add up to Nurmagomedov purposely avoided the fight.
“Khabib, I believe he already knew that he wasn’t going to fight,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson Believes Nurmagomedov ‘Bailed Out ‘
Ferguson seems to be on the same wavelength as UFC president Dana White. While some have suggested the UFC should postpone UFC 249 because of the coronavirus outbreak, Ferguson believes he and other UFC fighters could help people around the world take their minds off the virus by continuing to perform.
“It doesn’t matter who we have. We’re gonna try to make this thing go,” Ferguson said. “At least some of the people in the world have a little bit of hope. The guys that are really doing it are the doctors and the nurses and the people taking care of everybody. If we can do our little bit of part to try and make something happen, I’m down with that.”
So Ferguson believes Nurmagomedov “bailed out” on the card, and it seems doubly difficult for Ferguson to understand why the UFC champ would make that choice.
“He obviously knew what he could do to help save this card,” Ferguson said. “He didn’t want to take any of those chances. Everybody is taking risks trying to do it. He bailed out, man. It’s pretty hard to explain, but he bailed out, man.”
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Tony Ferguson Blasts ‘Scared’ UFC Champ Khabib for ‘Running’