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We’re literally days removed from UFC 229 – and all the chaos that came with it – and somehow, despite Khabib Nurmagomedov beating Conor McGregor in pretty one-sided fashion, there’s already talk going around of a rematch between the two.
It’s understandable to an extent – McGregor is the biggest draw in the sport and a rematch with Khabib following the post-fight brawl at UFC 229 would probably make the UFC a hell of a lot of money – but from a sporting perspective, it doesn’t make sense.
Not when Tony Ferguson is waiting in the wings. In perhaps the most exciting fight of 2018, ‘El Cucuy’ recovered from being badly hurt to simply destroy Anthony Pettis on Saturday, and after 11 straight wins in the Octagon, surely he has to be considered the top contender for Khabib’s title.
Here are 5 reasons why the UFC should book Khabib vs. Ferguson next.
#1 They have unfinished business
The potential fight between Khabib and Ferguson has been called the most cursed fight in UFC history, and for good reason. The two men have been booked opposite one another on a remarkable four previous occasions, and yet they still haven’t fought. And it’s impossible to place the blame on one or the other.
The fight was first booked in December 2015, but Nurmagomedov was forced out due to a rib injury and so Ferguson defeated Edson Barboza instead. Next, the fight was re-scheduled for April 2016, only for Ferguson to drop this time – lung issues were blamed for the withdrawal.
Eleven months later the fight was booked at UFC 209, but this time Khabib was sidelined at the last possible moment due to a botched weight cut. And finally, this past April, Ferguson blew his knee out and had to withdraw from a fight with Khabib for the Lightweight title.
The fact that the fight has been cancelled four times does suggest some kind of curse, but realistically it also tells you how much the UFC would like the fight to go ahead. Few fights get re-booked so many times without happening, after all.
Simply put, Ferguson and Nurmagomedov have unfinished business. It’s time to let them finish it inside the Octagon.
#2 Ferguson has more than earned his shot
Even if you choose to ignore the fact that last October, Ferguson won the Interim Lightweight title and never lost it in the Octagon, it’d be hard to deny that he’s earned a title shot. ‘El Cucuy’ has won eleven straight UFC fights and hasn’t lost since 2012 – and those eleven fights have come in the shark tank that is the UFC’s 155lbs division – usually recognised as the most talent-packed division in the sport.
Realistically, Ferguson’s win streak is bettered by just one man in the sport right now, and that’s Khabib himself. And with McGregor beaten, it’s pretty hard to deny that Ferguson and Khabib are the best two Lightweights on the planet. So why try to deny Ferguson his title shot?
The other options would be a rematch with McGregor – something that the Irishman simply doesn’t warrant given he was beaten in largely one-sided fashion by Nurmagomedov – or a fight with the winner of the upcoming Nate Diaz vs. Dustin Poirier match, but neither man’s resume comes close to the accomplishments of ‘El Cucuy’ right now.
If the UFC has any sense of favouring a sporting approach rather than a purely entertainment one – and bookings like Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum and Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega suggest they still do sometimes – then Tony Ferguson is the only name that makes sense as Khabib’s next fight.
#3 A McGregor rematch could do more harm than good
Okay, so the likelihood of another post-fight brawl like we saw at UFC 229 has to be pretty slim following the disgust levelled at all parties involved, but putting that aside for a second, giving Conor McGregor an instant rematch with Khabib could actually do more harm than good – for McGregor in particular.
While the Irishman’s reputation as a major drawing card has in part been built by his quick wit and trash talking skills, a lot of his success comes down to the fact that in his early UFC career at least, he built an aura of invincibility like few other fighters possessed.
Essentially, McGregor always backed up the talk – whether that was by sparking Jose Aldo out in seconds, or defeating Eddie Alvarez to claim his second UFC title – and while he did lose to Nate Diaz and then to Floyd Mayweather, he defeated Diaz in a rematch and was never expected to beat Mayweather anyway.
But would anyone really give him a chance in a rematch against Khabib? I don’t think so. Nothing McGregor did on Saturday suggested he could ever defeat ‘The Eagle’, and the loss itself was pretty humiliating anyway. Another loss to Khabib could be a nail in McGregor’s coffin in terms of his aura – and that could damage him as a drawing card.
The UFC would in fact be better off trying to match McGregor in so-called ‘money fights’ – with someone like Georges St-Pierre or Anderson Silva, or perhaps the trilogy match with Diaz – and hope he wins at least one to rehabilitate his fighting image. Maybe then he’d be ready for another fight with Khabib.
And if Conor isn’t going to fight Khabib – it’s just not logical – then the only man that makes sense as an opponent is Ferguson.
#4 It’s a fantastic fight on paper
The reason why the UFC have tried to book a Khabib/Ferguson fight so many times in the past isn’t just because both men are at the top of the division – it’s also because it sounds like a fantastic fight on paper between two massively skilled fighters – and it’s also almost impossible to pick a winner.
Thus far in his UFC career, nobody has really found a way to deal with Nurmagomedov’s wrestling game; he simply pushes too hard of a pace for anyone to keep up with, his takedowns are relentless even when he doesn’t succeed initially, and the threat of his takedowns also make his striking game more dangerous. And to add to all of that, he’s deceptively quick.
But Ferguson doesn’t care about being taken down. He’s quite happy to fight off his back – as witnessed by his triangle choke victory over Kevin Lee last October – and he often uses unorthodox ground attacks like rolling leglocks. His offense is unparalleled in terms of its wildness and creativity – he throws crazy, slashing elbows unlike any other fighter – and he’s also become known for breaking opponents with his pace.
So who would win? Would Khabib be able to ground ‘El Cucuy’ and punish him there as he’s done to so many others? How would the Russian deal with Ferguson’s unorthodox offense and attacks from his back? Would Ferguson’s chin hold up to the power of Khabib?
Whenever a potential fight asks so many valid questions, it suggests that it’s a fight that simply needs to happen. And the Khabib/Ferguson match is definitely one of those fights.
#5 It’d be a nice change of pace after UFC 229
The narrative of UFC 229 was one of sheer hatred – Khabib and Conor McGregor talked an insane amount of trash on one another; teammates and friends became involved and of course, the notorious bus attack incident in April took the feud to a level never before seen in the UFC. Khabib vs. McGregor was absolutely a personal rivalry.
Khabib vs. Ferguson on the other hand – despite the multiple pull-outs from each man – would be strictly business. Sure, Ferguson likes to talk trash in his own unique way, but he’s simply never going to take things to the same level as McGregor did. You just can’t imagine ‘El Cucuy’ riffing on Khabib’s Dagestani background or religion, and that isn’t a bad thing.
The sport of MMA has always been sold on rivalries, sure, but some of the most fondly remembered ones – Couture vs. Liddell, Hughes vs. Penn, Velasquez vs. Dos Santos – were built on a healthy amount of professional respect from both parties, with some mild trash talk but nothing that got overly personal.
There’s no reason why Khabib vs. Ferguson couldn’t sell to the masses based purely on the brilliance of both fighters, the possibility of a tremendous fight, and the unique personalities of both men, rather than an intense personal rivalry.
After the way the Khabib/McGregor rivalry spilled into out-of-cage violence – something the sport has always done its best to distance itself from – a more professional rivalry sounds like a breath of fresh air.
