Tag: Tony Ferguson

Spinning Back Clique: Is McGregor-Cerrone or Khabib-Ferguson more compelling?

MMA Junkie’s John Morgan, “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” unpack the latest MMA news and notes in Episode 5 of “Spinning Back Clique.”

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, John Morgan, “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” react to the latest news, notes and fight bookings, as well as look ahead to UFC on ESPN 7 this weekend.

Show rundown:

  • Finally, we can discuss [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] news that has to do with cagefighting, as the former two-division UFC champion was booked to headline UFC 246 against [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag]. But the Jan. 18 fight isn’t taking place at lightweight; it’s taking place at welterweight. So, what exactly is at stake here?
  • It’s happening. … We think. … We hope. For the fifth time, [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] has been booked. The 155-pound title fight is set for what should be UFC 249 on April 18 in New York. Will the fifth time be the charm in us finally seeing this fight, and what can we expect from this point on?
  • Whether it’s MMA or grappling, former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag] just seems off. He was cut early before losing a decision to Nick Rodriguez last week at Polaris 12. Combine that with two devastating knockout losses in his last two MMA fights, as well recent comments that his heart isn’t into fighting anymore, and you’ve got to wonder: Where does he go from here with his combat sports career?
  • UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Tito Ortiz[/autotag], who meets ex-WWE superstar Alberto El Patron this weekend in Combate Americas, got mad at MMA Junkie last week, calling us “click bait” for writing a story highlighting his comments about current UFC light heavyweight champ [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]. “I think I can beat Jon Jones,” Ortiz said. “I think I have a good chance – I really do think I’ve got a good chance.” His words, not ours. So when you hear that, what’s your take on it?
  • UFC on ESPN 7 this Saturday features [autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] in a heavyweight main event. And in the co-headliner, [autotag]Cynthia Calvillo[/autotag] fights [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag] at strawweight. Of those four fighters, who has the most to gain with an impressive victory?

For answers to all of those questions, watch Episode 5 of “Spinning Back Clique” in the video above. And make sure to weigh in on McGregor vs. Cerrone in our poll below.

[opinary poll=”are-you-less-hyped-for-mcgregor-vs-cerro” customer=”mmajunkie”]

Tony Ferguson details ‘unpleasant’ Khabib Nurmagomedov booking, vows to make rival ‘piss blood’

“It was about as smooth as a bumpy road, but we got to our destination, which was cool.”

[autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] says the UFC’s desire to promptly finalize his showdown with lightweight champion [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] made the process of booking his first undisputed title fight a bit uncomfortable.

“The manner that they did it really wasn’t the way I wanted to go, so it made the week kind of unpleasant,” Ferguson said Monday on “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.” “It puts my fans through the freakin’ ringer, but they kept it lighthearted for me. It was about as smooth as a bumpy road, but we got to our destination, which was cool.”

Ferguson (25-3 MMA, 15-1 UFC), who will indeed challenge Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) for the 155-pound title at UFC 249 on April 18 in Brooklyn, N.Y., said it all started when his management at Ballengee Group called to inform him a bout agreement was on the way. He had no prior indication the UFC already wanted to sign the fight and figured there was more to discuss before putting pen to paper.

That’s when Nurmagomedov’s team released the champion’s signed bout agreement on social media, shortly following UFC president Dana White telling ESPN the fight was targeted for April.

[lawrence-related id=466884,455496]

Ferguson’s side wasn’t done, though, and he wanted a face-to-face with UFC brass to hash everything out, and he got his wish with a visit to UFC headquarters in Las Vegas this past Friday. It was there that he signed his bout agreement.

“The process wasn’t the way I envisioned it going,” Ferguson said. “That’s why I wanted to sit down with the UFC. It’s about time we actually started having conversations and me being a little more personable with the company. It went good. I can’t say that it went bad. It just took time and was a process. I’m just lucky I had my agents there who have my back, so it’s cool to have that.”

Ferguson said he’s “happy with the way things are going” as far as his UFC relationship, and now he can turn his attention to what will be the most anticipated fight of 2020 by the time it arrives.

After failed bookings between Ferguson and Nurmagomedov in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, all involved hope the fifth time will be the charm. The fight is still more than four months away, though, and like many others, Ferguson wonders why.

“You’re going to have to ask the UFC (why the fight is in April),” Ferguson said. “Khabib is still on his world tour. He’s doing things, kissing babies and doing all that fun stuff. Who cares? You know who I am. You know I’m ready for February. I was ready to take another opponent if they were going to (expletive) pull some crazy stuff. But everything worked out. We’ve got until April. We’ve got plenty of time to train. We’ve got plenty of time to not get hurt, to be very smart and trust our teams and give the fans exactly what they (expletive) want.”

[lawrence-related id=467035,466085]

No one has been able to solve the puzzle that is the undefeated Nurmagomedov. However, Ferguson holds the same 12-fight winning streak as “The Eagle” and against arguably a higher caliber of competition.

Ferguson has been waiting years to prove he’s superior to Nurmagomedov, whom he called “very beatable,” and take hold of the UFC lightweight belt. Now that his opportunity is signed and official, he said he has no intention of letting it slip away.

“I’m in this dude’s head,” Ferguson said. “He’s looking at me. He’s going to train so hard. He’s going to be so nervous he’s going to make a mistake. I’m going to capitalize on that. I’m going to catch him during the scrambles. Scrambled eggs, baby. I’m going to make him piss blood. I owe him two to the chops, and he owes me 20 push-ups. This guy’s got an issue, and his name is Tony Ferguson. And I’m coming after him. It’s hunting season, baby.”

[vertical-gallery id=390685]

Khabib on a camel? Nurmagomedov hits the desert ahead of Tony Ferguson clash

UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov took to the desert to work up a sweat with a bit of shadowboxing and also rode a camel during a visit to Abu Dhabi.

It’s a quiet weekend in MMA. It always is at this time of the year. So website operators like ourselves sometimes have to make the best of what we can find in the quest for interesting daily content. Thankfully, [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] has thrown us a bone via his Instagram page.

Wanna see Khabib on a camel? Sure you do!

The UFC lightweight champ might be enjoying himself over in over in Abu Dhabi this weekend, but as his signed-and-sealed UFC lightweight title fight with [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] was becoming public knowledge over here, he was already getting down to training over there.

Nurmagomedov was in Abu Dhabi to check out the UAE Warriors show this weekend, but made sure he worked up a sweat as he pounded the treadmill in the hotel gym, then headed out to the desert for a spot of shadowboxing.

View this post on Instagram

Бегите на встречу своей мечте, она сама к вам не придёт и не забывайте, что забег может оказаться очень долгим. — Если ты готов к тяжелому и изнурительному забегу в длинною жизнь, то тебе пора начинать, а то на каком то этапе твоей жизни, ты встретишься с соперником, который опередит тебя, не потому что он лучше тебя, а просто потому, что он начал раньше тебя. — Не теряй время, пора действовать. @alhadaya_karazere @alhadaya.ru

A post shared by Khabib Nurmagomedov (@khabib_nurmagomedov) on

Nurmagomedov is clearly taking the challenge of Ferguson VERY seriously and, in his post from late last week, he explained that he couldn’t afford to let his opposite number get the jump on him in the preparation stakes.

“If you are ready for a difficult and debilitating run into a long life, then you have to start, or at some stage in your life, you will meet a rival who will get ahead of you, not because he is better than you, but simply because he started earlier you,” he said.

“Do not waste time; it’s time to act.”

Seeing Khabib making such serious noises about his upcoming bout only goes to show how big this matchup is (especially given the fact we’ve seen it booked, then canceled, FOUR times before). But we’re not gonna lie. After Ferguson lost his interim title – and his fight with Khabib – after tangling with a cable, the sight of Nurmagomedov on a camel broke us out in a cold sweat.

Now get down from that camel, Khabib. We need you (and Tony) fit and well for April 18. No cables. No camels. No problem.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

[vertical-gallery id=437333]

Khabib Nurmagomedov a -250 favorite over Tony Ferguson ahead of UFC title fight – their fifth booking

The third time’s supposed to be the charm, but a pair of the world’s best lightweights have gone above that already.

The third time’s supposed to be the charm, but a pair of the world’s best lightweights have gone above that already.

UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) and former interim champ [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] (25-3 MMA, 15-1 UFC) have been booked to fight four times already. They’ve had fights scrapped in each year from 2015-2018. Now they’ve put pen to paper for a fifth time, hoping this will be the one that sticks.

Ferguson signed his end of the booking agreement late Friday and now will challenge for Nurmagomedov’s belt in April.

With the fight official, the early betting odds have champ Nurmagomedov a decent favorite. Nurmagomedov is a -250 favorite at BetMGM.com. The comeback on Ferguson is +180.

In other words, a $100 bet on Cerrone would pay out $280 (including the original $100 wager) if he pulls the upset. A $100 bet on Nurmagomedov would pay out about $140 (including the original $100 wager) if he wins.

The UFC’s April pay-per-view doesn’t yet have an event number assigned to it, but takes place April 18 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims likely for ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

[lawrence-related id=466085,455496,453741]

Nurmagomedov is No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA lightweight rankings. Ferguson sits just behind him at No. 2. Nurmagomedov also is No. 1 on the pound-for-pound list. Ferguson checks in at No. 11 on that chart.

The unbeaten Nurmagomedov won the vacant lightweight title at UFC 223 in April 2018, also in Brooklyn, with a unanimous decision against Al Iaquinta. For that fight, Nurmagomedov had been scheduled to fight – you guessed it – Ferguson. But Ferguson injured his knee and was forced to pull out. Featherweight champion Max Holloway attempted to step up on short notice, but was pulled after a bad weight cut, so Iaquinta was drafted from further down the card.

After the title win, Nurmagomedov submitted former dual champ Conor McGregor at UFC 229, then set off the now-infamous post-fight brawl with McGregor’s team. That led to a suspension and huge fine from the Nevada Athletic Commission.

In September, Nurmagomedov had his second successful title defense with a third-round submission of Dustin Poirier in the UFC 242 main event in Abu Dhabi.

Ferguson has won 12 straight fights, but fought just once in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Still, he has eight post-fight bonus awards in his past eight fights, including “Fight of the Night” TKOs of former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis at UFC 229 in 2018 and Donald Cerrone earlier this year at UFC 238.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship, and there is no influence on news coverage.

[opinary poll=”will-khabib-vs-ferguson-finally-will-hap” customer=”mmajunkie”]

Tony Ferguson signs contract, meets Khabib Nurmagomedov for UFC title on April 18

Tony Ferguson has signed his bout agreement and will meet Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title on April 18.

[autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] has signed his bout agreement and will meet [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] for the UFC lightweight title on April 18.

After Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) inked his side of the deal earlier this week, it took slightly longer for Ferguson’s (25-3 MMA, 15-1 UFC) part of the deal to be finalized with the UFC. It was ultimately finalized though, and the highly anticipated 155-pound title fight is set.

MMA Junkie verified the news of Ferguson’s signed bout agreement on Friday with a member of his management at Ballengee Group following an initial report from ESPN.com.

[lawrence-related id=466085]

The April 18 pay-per-view event, which does not have an event number, is expected to take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The matchup between Nurmagomedov, No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA lightweight rankings, and No. 2-ranked Ferguson will mark the fifth time the two have attempted to share the octagon. Each man has pulled out of two scheduled fights, which have been booked in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Should they successfully make it to the octagon this time around, both Nurmagomedov and Ferguson will bring 12-fight winning streaks into the matchup.

[vertical-gallery id=437333]

[vertical-gallery id=390685]

MMA Junkie Radio #3005: Khabib vs. Ferguson, VanZant’s gamble, Jones vs. Reyes (and Adesanya)

Hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” break down the latest MMA news and notes, including the biggest fight booking of the week.

Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here!

On episode 3,005 of the podcast, the guys break down the latest MMA news and notes, with plenty of hot topics to discuss even on a non-event weekend.

The rundown

  • The worst possible outcome has been confirmed, with Walt Harris’ stepdaughter, Aniah Blanchard, confirmed dead.
  • It seems [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] is on tap. Is there any way this fight doesn’t come together (again)?
  • [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag] is fighting out her contract with the UFC. Is this a big gamble on her part?
  • [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] is a massive favorite over [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] for their February contest. Is Reyes being given enough respect?
  • Speaking of Jones, what’s with all this [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] talk?
  • [autotag]Floyd Mayweather[/autotag] continues to stay in the news. Should he?

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at AudioBoom, or check it out above. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.

Justin Gaethje on how he sees Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson fight playing out

Justin Gaethje breaks down the Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson fight.

With a fight between [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] and [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] close to being finalized, top lightweight contender [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] will be watching closely.

UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov is expected to face former UFC interim lightweight champ Ferguson on April 18, pending negotiations from Ferguson’s side.

With Nurmagomedov and Ferguson looking to make their fifth booking the charm (four previously scheduled fights between the two have been scrapped), Gaethje proceeded to break down how he sees the fight playing out on a recent episode of Michael Bisping’s “Believe You Me” podcast.

“I do think Khabib will win,” Gaethje said. “But I do think Tony is going to bring some … I don’t know if he’s going to lay on his back and throw elbows, I don’t know what the hell is going to happen there.

“Especially the way Khabib fights, and the way Khabib wins. It’s crazy how much and how hard Tony gets hit, how often he gets hit at fights but I don’t think that’s going to be a problem for him in this fight because Khabib is not going to be looking to exploit that, that option. He’s going to do what he does. I’m really interested to see if Tony, his jiu-jitsu, for one, plays a factor, and for two, just his tenaciousness of being on bottom and still wanting to fight.”

[lawrence-related id=466000]

Gaethje has won three straight fights by first-round knockout and finds himself in a bit of a quandary. He has expressed interest in facing Conor McGregor next, but with the UFC rumored to book McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone, where does that leave Gaethje?

All he knows is, his ultimate goal is to challenge Nurmagomedov.

“I’m trying to get to Khabib,” Gaethje said. “Khabib, I know, has publicly stated he does not have many fights left, so I have to fight him before he goes away. I can’t let him go undefeated without at least testing, being able to test him myself. I consider myself one of the most dangerous lightweights in the world and I bring different things that Khabib hasn’t had to deal with, necessarily. I have crazy power in my legs, in my arms, in my hands. I’m really good at wrestling. I’m super athletic. I’ve been wrestling as long as he has. Nobody has wrestled as long as he has except for me. So I’m trying to ultimately get that fight.”

[vertical-gallery id=442390]

Plot thickens as UFC tries to book Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson

Here’s hoping the “games” – whatever they might be – stop, everybody gets what they want, and this fight gets finalized.

On Monday, UFC broadcast partner ESPN cited Dana White in reporting that the promotion is targeting a planned April 18 pay-per-view card in Brooklyn to book a highly anticipated title fight between lightweight champion [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] and [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag].

Not long after, Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, posted a photo on Instagram of a purported signed bout agreement by the champ.

As for Ferguson, we heard nothing from him directly. But when MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn reached out to his management group, he was told both parties are “in late stages of negotiations.” Now, that could mean just about anything, but one thing was looking likely: One side wanted to put pressure on the other.

You see where this is going?

Fast forward to Tuesday evening, nearly 24 hours after the news put out there by White and Abdelaziz, and we finally heard from Ferguson himself on Twitter.

No more games. I’m open for business. Time to give the fans what they want 🕶 Champ Shit Only™️ 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 @danawhite @ballengeegroupmma # makeufcgreatagain

You read that? “No more games. I’m open for business.” That might tell us all we need to know about how these negotiations are going:

Who’s playing games and why?

[protected-iframe id=”22030e354c0bf4f16237d2ba7d2d5306-58289362-58194562″ info=”https://giphy.com/embed/l4JyX3V0yydvPHNBe” width=”480″ height=”260″ frameborder=”0″ class=”giphy-embed” allowfullscreen=””]

There’s no question we want to see this fight finally happen after four previously failed attempts. We need to see this fight happen. So here’s hoping the games – whatever they might be – stop, everybody gets what they want, and this thing gets finalized.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

[vertical-gallery id=390685]

Report: Dana White wants Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson on April 18

It appears to be far from a done deal, but the UFC boss has made clear this is the fight he wants.

Will the fifth time be the charm for [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag]?

If UFC president Dana White has his way, the most elusive MMA fight of this generation will go down at an as-yet unnamed event on April 18 in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.

According to a Monday report by UFC promotional partner ESPN, White said the company hopes to book the fight as the main event for a pay-per-view card at Barclays Center. Neither fighter has commented yet on the potential fight date.

Four times from 2015-18, the UFC attempted to make the bout between Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC), the undefeated UFC lightweight champion, and Ferguson, who has won 12 consecutive fights.

Twice, Nurmagomedov withdrew from the planned matchup. The second time, at UFC 209, he was pulled from his weight cut the day of a planned interim title fight. Ferguson later won the interim belt in a matchup against Kevin Lee at UFC 216.

[lawrence-related id=462675,461864,455496]

Ferguson (25-3 MMA, 15-1 UFC) also pulled out twice from planned meetings. In his case, a fluke knee injury suffered on the FOX lot in Los Angeles a week before his planned UFC 223 championship fight with Nurmagomedov in Brooklyn kicked off a chain reaction of events which included Conor McGregor’s infamous van attack and ended with Nurmagomedov defeating Al Iaquinta.

Nurmagomedov last competed at UFC 242, where he submitted Dustin Poirier to retain his title. Ferguson’s last win was over Anthony Pettis at UFC 229, the co-feature to Nurmagomedov’s main-event win over Conor McGregor.

Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdel-Aziz, posted on his Instagram account a portion of a signed contract on his fighter’s end.

[vertical-gallery id=437333]

[vertical-gallery id=390685]

 

 

What could’ve been: 10 of the best booked UFC fights that never happened

Conor McGregor vs. Rafael dos Anjos, Nate Diaz vs. Dustin Poirer, Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson, and more make the list.

There have been numerous highly anticipated UFC matchups that have fallen through over the years because of unfortunate circumstances, and they easily could’ve produced fireworks.

From championship fights, to rivalries, to intriguing stylistic pairings, here are 10 of the best scheduled matchups that never ended up happening.

****

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson

[jwplayer o0fhTRLu-FLu19iir]

While it appears that another [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] fight booking is imminent at the time of this writing, let’s just hope the fifth time is the charm.

These two were scheduled to fight on four other occasions, but a series of unfortunate circumstances and injuries has resulted in it never happening. The first booking was during The Ultimate Fighter Finale card on Dec. 11, 2015, when Nurmagomedov was forced out due to injury and replaced by Edson Barboza. Ferguson submitted Barboza in the second round via D’Arce choke, earning both “Performance” and “Fight of the Night” bonuses.

They were then scheduled to fight at UFC on FOX 19 on April 16, 2016, but this time it was Ferguson who pulled out. Ferguson was replaced by newcomer Darrell Horcher, whom Nurmagomedov battered before earning a second-round TKO win.

Then, an interim lightweight championship fight was scheduled to take place at UFC 209 on March 4, 2017, but the fight was canceled due to Nurmagomedov falling ill from a bad weight cut.

Finally, the two were set to meet a fourth time. At UFC 223 in April 2018, Nurmagomedov and then-interim champ Ferguson were going to fight for the undisputed lightweight title. But in a freak accident, Ferguson tripped over a wire and blew out his knee. Max Holloway stepped in briefly, but the New York State Athletic Commission deemed Holloway unfit to compete due to a severe weight cut. Al Iaquinta, who was scheduled to face Paul Felder on the same night, stepped in for the massive opportunity but was dominated by Nurmagomedov in a five-round battle.

Nurmagomedov finally realized his dream of becoming the UFC lightweight champ, and here’s hoping the fight with Ferguson will finally come to fruition in early 2020 as expected.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10