Khabib Nurmagomedov to face Tony Ferguson at UFC 209, according to his father
KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV will face Tony Ferguson at UFC 209, according to the Russian fighter’s father and coach.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is rumoured to have fixed a fight with Tony Ferguson at UFC 209
Nurmagomedov revealed yesterday that he has started his training camp but that he could not reveal his opponent.
The 28-year-old is the No 1 ranked challenger to Conor McGregor, who beat Eddie Alvarez to take the lightweight title in New York last month.
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will now face off in Las Vegas on March 4
Nurmagomedov has talked up a potential clash with the Irishman but the champion is taking a break from fighting while his partner Dee Devlin is pregnant with their first child.
Instead, the Russian had been hoping to fight Ferguson, the No 2 challenger, but the American was insisting on a deal that saw the two fighters paid the same.
But according to UFC chief Dana White, that made a clash between the pair impossible.
“We were trying to make that fight — Tony said he will not do that fight unless he makes the same exact money that Khabib makes,” White said.
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“Khabib has a different deal so, that ain’t happening. Count that out”
However, it now appears that a deal has been struck.
Khabib Nurmagomedov posted on Instagram about his start to training camp
Editor of MMA website Bloody Elbow Karim Zidan claims that Nurmagomedov’s father and long-time coach Abdulmanap confirmed on social media that Ferguson would be his son’s next opponent.
Nurmagomedov had previously offered Ferguson an extra $200,000 to fight him in an extraordinary effort to force his hand.