Khabib Nurmagomedov sends outrageous offer in effort to make Tony Ferguson fight happen
KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV has offered Tony Ferguson $200,000 (£162,000) to fight him if he cannot agree terms with the UFC.
Khabib Nurmagomedov wants a UFC title shot or an eliminator against Tony Ferguson
Nurmagomedov has been goading Conor McGregor in recent weeks in an effort to convince the Irishman to agree to a title fight.
But the Russian fighter, who is the No 1 ranked lightweight challenger, is also interested in taking on Ferguson.
However, UFC are said to be refusing to pay the American what he feels he is worth, forcing Nurmagomedov to resort to his own methods.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the top 15 pound-for-pound fighters in the world
Tony Ferguson is currently struggling to agree a deal with UFC
"Hey [Tony Ferguson] - if the UFC don't want to pay you, I'll pay you $200k extra on your purse," Nurmagomedov said on Twitter.
"Let's make this fight now you have no excuse."
Ferguson is ranked No 2 in the lightweight division and a bout against Nurmagomedov would be one of the fights of the year.
It would also be a title eliminator with the winner staking a hefty claim for a fight against McGregor.
And Nurmagomedov's manager is also desperate to book the fight.
According to the Daily Star, Ali Abdel-Aziz accidentally posted an ultimatum from his own account that read as though it was supposed to come from his client.
Nurmagomedov tells Johnson to give up during fight
"@TonyFergusonXT you have 6 days to make a deal with the UFC," the message said.
"If you don't make a deal I'm going to find someone else to fight @DanaWhite [UFC president]."