Suspended UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t have a lot of sympathy for scorned contender Tony Ferguson.
That seems pretty clear after the Dagestani fighter released a statement on Instagram following news that Ferguson had been passed over in favor of Dustin Poirier for an interim lightweight title fight against Max Holloway at UFC 236. UFC president Dana White told ESPN that Ferguson had turned down the match, probably because the last time he won an interim belt, the UFC stripped him of it to clear the way for Khabib vs. Conor McGregor at UFC 229.
Fans aren’t the only ones starting to question the value of interim titles, it seems.
Don’t cry for Tony too much, Khabib argues. The same kind of #1 bulls**t happened to him three times.
”I want to remind you guys, that before I become champion, I was close to the title fight 3 times and all 3 times I missed my opportunity,” Nurmagomedov wrote on Instagram. “First was in July 2016 when I was offered to fight in Ramadan month and I turned it down, second was UFC 205 NYC when I was offered a title fight, bout agreement signed, but my title was given away, you know the story. Third time was UFC 209 where I was hospitalized and almost died.”
”But after every single fail I were said: you missed your chance, earn your shot with one more victory. Tony you had your chance and you missed it, and that’s your fault only. You know that I’m disqualified and can’t fight, but it’s not fair to strip me off the title, I fought 3 times in 9 months. I won and defended my belt.”
”As a fighter you deserve a title fight, you are great fighter and opponent,” he concluded. “But now you have to fight or wait for my DQ to be over and fight (but UFC doesn’t want it). I don’t understand your offenses, if you fell down, you got to get up, not complain.”
To be fair, Ferguson doesn’t seem to be complaining all that much ... at least not out in public. Shortly before Poirier vs. Holloway was announced, the eccentric “T-Ferg” took to twitter and wrote in his typically atypical style...
I Have Been Offered A Fight, But Not Sure If It Meets Our Standards Crew. We Deserve Better For The Amount Of Work & Supoort We Put In. Team El Cucuy- Champ Shit Only @AudieAttar @ParadigmSM pic.twitter.com/BPw9mJSH2t
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) February 20, 2019
After the announcement he seemed to take a shot at 145 pound champ Max Holloway, suggesting he’d steal that belt while Holloway is up at 155.
I can make 145
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) February 23, 2019
Naaaaachhhhhhhooooooooo! pic.twitter.com/pzEM9braox
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) February 23, 2019
It’s just another confusing week in the world of UFC matchmaking, where champions never seem to fight and number one contenders have to prove themselves over and over, hoping the UFC doesn’t move the goal posts afterward and a title shot fits the promotion’s plans.
And if UFC doesn’t want it? As Khabib said: “Tough luck, get up and try again.”