UFC veteran Tony Ferguson is very confident he will get the former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov out of retirement soon.
One of the most coveted bouts for fans that missed out on the UFC octagon was Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson. The bout was finally billed ‘Cursed’ by fans after it got canceled five times.
Later, Nurmagomedov retired from professional fighting with a perfect 29-0 record in 2020 and promised never to return, ending every expectation of the fight with Ferguson.
However, ‘El Cucuy’ still believes the fight will happen. Previously, the UFC veteran suggested that he and ‘The Eagle’ should coach a season of The Ultimate Fighter with him. In a recent UFC 279 press conference, Ferguson stated he got a go-ahead for the same from Nurmagomedov’s manager but was waiting for the Russian fighter’s response.
“We’re waiting on Fathead’s fat a**. And I’m going to be real with you. We got the green light from the brass. And went and talked to them. We got the green light from his coach. We got the green light from his agent,” Ferguson said.
While responding to a reporter’s question that will he be the one to get Nurmagomedov back to fighting, Ferguson said, “I am the one to get him out of retirement. That dude’s not retired. When it comes down to it when you lose somebody, you have to take some time off, you have to think and you have to do whatever you have to do, but his father had said the fight to make was myself and Khabib. Before he passed away, he did say that, and Khabib has that in his mindset.”
Will Khabib Nurmagomedov return to fighting?
The prime reason Nurmagomedov retired from professional fighting is his father. ‘The Eagle’ lost his father just months before his last fight. Thus, he promised his mother that he will not fight without his father by his side. The Dagestan native has stayed true to his words to date as he refused to come back, although he had several lucrative offers on the plate.
Nevertheless, Nurmagomedov is into coaching now. He trains his friends and teammates for their respective MMA careers. Hence, the former champion is enticed by Ferguson’s offer. He admitted that in an interview and even ask UFC boss Dana White to fix the show.
Interestingly, even White agreed with the idea. Therefore, it is very likely that this idea might come to fruition. And although not inside the UFC cage, fans might get to see the rivals go head to head as coaches in the future.
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