Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
After his UFC 249 withdrawal, Tony Ferguson called for Khabib Nurmagomedov to be stripped of the lightweight belt.
After his UFC 249 withdrawal, Tony Ferguson called for Khabib Nurmagomedov to be stripped of the lightweight belt.
Conor McGregor was one of the earliest predictors that the UFC 249 fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson wouldn’t happen.
[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] was one of the earliest predictors that the UFC 249 title fight between [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] and [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] wouldn’t happen. But he probably never could have predicted these conditions.
Even dating back prior to his January win over Donald Cerrone, former UFC featherweight and lightweight champ McGregor (22-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) said he thought the fifth booking between Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) and Ferguson wouldn’t happen. That prediction became reality Wednesday when Nurmagomedov officially withdrew due to the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on his ability to travel and prepare.
Nurmagomedov has been the recipient of much criticism since. Ferguson accused the lightweight champion of “running away” and said he should be stripped of his belt, and others have questioned his decision to not remain Stateside in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. Nurmagomedov’s U.S. training home is at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif.
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McGregor, who has been one of the biggest advocates for safety and awareness during the coronavirus outbreak, weighed in with his opinion Thursday. He offered congratulations to Ferguson for winning by default while simultaneously ripping Nurmagomedov, but ruled out the possibility of fighting on 16 days’ notice, even though his fighting instincts have him desiring to do so (via Twitter):
I am in shape to fight right now!
At the beginning of all this, I said to myself – I’m happy I don’t have an official fight booked. If I did, I would have consumed all the incorrect data to support me taking part in the bout, and I would have followed through, competed. And won.— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 2, 2020
I am in shape to fight right now!
At the beginning of all this, I said to myself – I’m happy I don’t have an official fight booked. If I did, I would have consumed all the incorrect data to support me taking part in the bout, and I would have followed through, competed. And won.
The fact of this matter is, both Tony and Khabib where engaged in a game of chicken here towards the fight bell. With Khabib chickening out first. Making it 3-2 in pullouts in Tony’s favour. Khab scurried out of the U.S to home, and amid the crisis. Very high risk.
Congrats Tony.— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 2, 2020
The fact of this matter is, both Tony and Khabib where engaged in a game of chicken here towards the fight bell. With Khabib chickening out first. Making it 3-2 in pullouts in Tony’s favour. Khabib scurried out of the U.S to home, and amid the crisis. Very high risk.
Congrats Tony.
With McGregor seemingly not an option to compete at UFC 249 on April 18, the UFC still remains in disarray in trying to secure a main event fight and venue for the card.
Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier have circulated as names of interest to fight Ferguson, who still appears willing to compete despite the hectic circumstances.
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Catch a replay of Wednesday’s live Q&A with MMA Junkie’s John Morgan and Mike Bohn, who hit on a number of topics.
Although no fights are going on at the moment, the MMA world was still buzzing with news to discuss Wednesday.
Most of it revolved around [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag], which was canceled for the fifth time after the lightweight champion announced he was off UFC 249 on April 18 due to concerns about the coronavirus, as well as travel restrictions.
Ferguson accused “The Eagle” of running away from a fight against him, and MMA fans are left disappointed that the anticipated fight again failed to materialize. Now the status of the event remains unknown.
All the UFC 249 talk didn’t completely overshadow UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag], though. He reached a plea deal with prosecutors following his recent arrest in Albuquerque, N.M. Jones also released a statement admitting to a problematic relationship with alcohol.
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Those were two of the main topics discussed in a live MMA Junkie Q&A with lead staff reporter John Morgan and senior reporter Mike Bohn. Watch the replay in the video above.
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You couldn’t script the series of events that have kept us from watching Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson fighting each other.
Injuries. Weight-cutting issues. A poorly placed television production cable. A worldwide viral pandemic.
Five times now the UFC has tried to make the fight between [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] and [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag]. And five times a fight many consider could be one of the greatest in mixed martial arts history has fallen out.
The most recent episode was finalized Wednesday, when Nurmagomedov, the undefeated UFC lightweight champion, acknowledged on social media that he’s out of his planned UFC 249 title defense against Ferguson on April 18.
How has the UFC’s great white whale of a fight managed to elude us so many times?
****
Nurmagomedov and Ferguson both were clearly stars on the rise when booked in a showcase fight at the TUF 22 Finale in Las Vegas, one night before Conor McGregor’s legendary 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo.
Ferguson, the “TUF 13” winner in 2011, was 9-1 in the UFC by this point, including six straight wins, most recently a thrilling brawl against former Strikeforce champ Josh Thomson in San Diego. Numagomedov, for his part, had won six in a row, but was out more than a year with a knee injury. His most recent victory had been over Rafael dos Anjos, who had gone on to win the lightweight title in the meantime.
For the first fallout, an undisclosed Nurmagomedov injury caused him to pull out of the bout. Ferguson took on replacement Edson Barboza and took home both “Fight of the Night” and “Performance of the Night” for his second-round finish.
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Tony Ferguson isn’t buying Khabib Nurmagomedov’s reason for his circumstantial UFC 249 fallout – and he doesn’t seem interested in a replacement.
[autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] isn’t buying [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag]’s reason about his circumstantial fallout from UFC 249.
On Wednesday, the UFC lightweight champion confirmed that he’s out of the April 18 event because of a travel ban in Russia, where Nurmagomedov currently is on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
To Ferguson, Nurmagomedov had the opportunity to fly back to the U.S., where he originally was stationed at American Kickboxing Academy before California was issued a stay-at-home order last month. However, during a recent stint in Abu Dhabi, Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) instead flew to Dagestan.
Ferguson (25-3 MMA, 15-1 UFC) thinks the move was intentionally done to get out of the fight.
“Khabib, I believe he already knew that he wasn’t going to fight,” Ferguson said in an ESPN interview he teased on Twitter.
Ferguson later added, “He bailed out, man. He bailed out.”
Ferguson took shots at Nurmagomedov and former champion Conor McGregor, hurling expletives in each respective rival’s direction.
“Khabib and Conor run around with their tails between their legs like a (expletive) dog,” Ferguson said. “I run with the dogs, man. These guys aren’t dogs, man. They’re a bunch of (expletives). Khabib is a (expletive).”
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Judging by one remark, Ferguson doesn’t seem thrilled with the prospect of fighting anyone other than Nurmagomedov or McGregor (22-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC).
“Whether or not it’s Khabib, whether or not it’s (expletive) Conor, I’m all for just whooping somebody’s ass,” Ferguson said. “I already beat the top five in a round robin, and now they want me to reset. They want to give me another top five? I don’t (expletive) think so. I’m a champion already.”
For the fifth time in their UFC careers, Nurmagomedov were set to fight – and for the fifth time it is off.
Numerous fighters, including top UFC contenders Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier, volunteered their services on social media following news of Nurmagomedov’s unlikely participation.
It remains publicly unknown if UFC 249 currently has a location as UFC president Dana White remains tight lipped.
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The UFC lightweight champ is absolutely right. And the UFC should listen to him.
Khabib Nurmagomedov will not be fighting Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 on April 18th, as he’s stuck in Russia and unable to leave due to travel restrictions brought on by the coronavirus.
And here’s the thing – he should’t leave Russia or anywhere to go fight anyone right now because we’re going through a very serious global pandemic where safety and intelligence needs to come first.
Those two things are apparently not on the top of Dana White’s list of ways to act because he continues to push forward and is trying to make an event that nobody really needs to see right now and that fighters don’t need to put themselves in danger by preparing for them right now.
The entire sports world is on hold right now and it sucks, but it’s the right thing to do.
Nurmagomedov on Wednesday shared a really smart message about his situation and the world’s situation right now:
Staying home in quarantine and reading the reaction of people to the situation around my fight, it turns out that the whole world should be in quarantine, governments of all countries, famous people around the world urge people to follow all safety requirements in order to limit the spread of the disease, to save people, and Khabib is the only one relieved of all obligations and must demonstrate free will and train flying around the world, for the sake of fight? – I understand everything and I’m definitely upset more than you to cancel the fight, probably like all others, I had many plans after the fight, but I can’t control it all.
The greatest countries and the largest companies of our time are shocked by what is happening, every day the situation changes unpredictably.
But Khabib still has to fight, is that what you saying? –
Take care of yourself and put yourself in my shoes.
Here’s his post:
Like I said before, this whole thing SUCKS with all the capital letters. I want to see Khabib and Ferguson fight just as much as all UFC fans wants to see them fight – we’ve been waiting for this one for A LONG TIME.
But right now the UFC needs to act like everyone else and just shut it down. Also, maybe throw some money to the fighters so they don’t feel like they have to fight in a pandemic to make money.
You are a $4 billion dollar company, UFC.
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For the fifth time, Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson is off, making it officially cursed.
For the fifth time, [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] is off.
Nurmagomedov, the UFC lightweight champion, won’t defend his title in the highly anticipated bout with Ferguson at UFC 249, which is supposed to take place on April 18 in a location yet to be determined.
On Wednesday, Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) announced on Instagram that he won’t be competing since he’s stuck in Russia during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Staying home in quarantine and reading the reaction of people to the situation around my fight, it turns out that the whole world should be in quarantine,” Nurmagomedov wrote.
“Governments of all countries, famous people around the world urge people to follow all safety requirements in order to limit the spread of the disease, to save people, and (I am) the only one relieved of all obligations and must demonstrate free will and train flying around the world, for the sake of fight? I understand everything, and I’m definitely upset more than you to cancel the fight, probably like all others, I had many plans after the fight, but I can’t control it all.”
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Nurmagomedov’s withdrawal comes as no surprise as the UFC has been scrambling for weeks to keep his title fight with Ferguson – and the pay-per-view as a whole – alive while the rest of the sports world is shut down.
Nurmagomedov, who is in Dagestan, was faced with travel restrictions as the Russian government banned travel to help contain the spread of COVID-19.
UFC 249 originally was scheduled to take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., but due to public gathering restrictions and closing of all non-essential businesses by the state government, the UFC was forced to move the event. Since then, nearly 80 percent of the country is under some form of lockdown as COVID-19 has worsened. The UFC was looking into taking the event outside of the country or potentially Native American reservations.
It’s uncertain if the UFC will try to continue to keep UFC 249 for April 18 now that Nurmagomedov is unable to compete. UFC president Dana White has been defiant that the show must go on.
Many fighters offered to step in on short notice when it was first announced that Nurmagomedov was likely out of the fight.
Below is Nurmagomedov’s full post:
Staying home in quarantine and reading the reaction of people to the situation around my fight, it turns out that the whole world should be in quarantine, governments of all countries, famous people around the world urge people to follow all safety requirements in order to limit the spread of the disease, to save people, and Khabib is the only one relieved of all obligations and must demonstrate free will and train flying around the world, for the sake of fight? – I understand everything and I’m definitely upset more than you to cancel the fight, probably like all others, I had many plans after the fight, but I can’t control it all.
The greatest countries and the largest companies of our time are shocked by what is happening, every day the situation changes unpredictably.
But Khabib still has to fight, is that what you saying? –
Take care of yourself and put yourself in my shoes.
If one thing is certain right now, it’s that nothing is certain, and that includes the future of the UFC’s 155-pound division.
If one thing is certain right now, it’s that nothing is certain.
The current COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on every aspect of the world’s global operations, and the sporting world is no different. Both the UFC and Bellator have canceled events, and the PFL has been forced to delay its 2020 season. Next up on the chopping block is a long-awaited UFC lightweight title fight between current champ [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] and former interim titleholder [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag].
Ranked in the top two slots of the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA lightweight rankings, the two were expected to face off at UFC 249 on April 18, but that card taking place anywhere in the world seems like anything but a guarantee, even as UFC president Dana White does his best to try and keep it together. Nurmagomedov is currently in Russia, where he faces an international travel ban that could keep him in the country.
And, of course, White hasn’t even announced if he has a location for the card secured.
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No. 4 [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] has been mentioned as a possible replacement opponent for Ferguson, but “The Highlight” has often mentioned his disdain for taking short-notice fights, and he’s been linked to a summer fight with No. 5 [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag], as well.
No. 3 [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] has also mentioned his willingness to step up on short notice, but he’s been expected to face No. 7 [autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] on May 16 in California – of course, assuming that fight card still takes place, as well.
In the meantime, No. 6 [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] is due for a big fight after his recent win over Kevin Lee – the main event of a March 14 card in Brasilia that, right now registers “Do Bronx” as the last UFC fighter to pick up a win in the octagon.
And, of course, if there was ever a fighter that would be willing to fight during a global pandemic, perhaps on an aircraft carrier out in international waters or maybe in a C-17 flying a few miles up over the Earth’s surface, No. 7 [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] probably knows a guy.
In other words, much like everything else in our world, who really knows what’s going to happen next? While we wait, check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, which, for now, look a lot like last week’s rankings, as well.
Quite simply, where does Jon Jones go from here after his latest arrest? And quite confusingly, what the heck is going on with UFC 249?
Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. In this week’s episode, “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” unpack potential fallout from Jon Jones’ latest run-in with the law, what the hell is going on with UFC, and more.
SHOW RUNDOWN:
For answers to all of those questions, watch Episode 22 of “Spinning Back Clique” above.
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s dominant performance in his UFC debut was just a small sample of what was to come.
[autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] entered the UFC a perfect 16-0 and has not lost since.
In 2012, Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) faced wrestler Kamal Shalorus, who was 16 years his senior. It was not only Nurmagomedov’s first time to fight in the U.S., but also his first time to fight in a cage, as all his previous fights in Russia had been in a ring.
Shalorus came out aggressive, pressuring Nurmagomedov while throwing heavy strikes. At around the two minute mark of Round 1, Shalorus connected with a big shot to the body that had Nurmagomedov ducking under for the takedown, but Shalorus sprawled.
However, as he made his way up, he was met with a huge left hand by Nurmagomedov which dropped him, though Shalorus was able to weather the storm and survive the round.
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In Round 2, Nurmagomedov scored the early takedown and got top control for a few minutes before getting stood up by the referee. But Nurmagomedov was able to get the fight right back to the mat, using his wrestling to control the second round.
Round 3, Shalorus shot for the takedown, but it was easily stuffed by Nurmagomedov, who eventually decided to go for a takedown of his own. He transitioned from side control to full mount, and then was able to sink in a rear-naked choke as Shalorus was turning, submitting him in an overall dominant performance.
It has been more of the same throughout Nurmagomedov’s career, who has gone on to win 12 straight fights in the UFC en route to capturing the promotion’s lightweight title.
Nurmagomedov is scheduled to face Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 on April 18 in one of the most highly-anticipated fights in UFC history, but with Nurmagomedov currently stuck in Dagestan and facing a coronavirus-related travel ban, it seems the fight is currently in jeopardy.
While that gets sorted out, check out Nurmagomedov’s UFC debut in the video above.
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