What’s the story?
Khabib Nurmagomedov has been one of the most talked about names in the past few months in the MMA circuit.
The Russian sensation has been on a roll with his undefeated streak in the UFC. Khabib’s camp is aggressively looking for a fight with Lightweight Champ, Conor McGregor, but with Conor being away from the Octagon for the foreseeable future, Tony Ferguson is the guy Khabib is looking to face next for the interim lightweight belt.
Ferguson, on the other hand, seems to be more concerned about his paycheck rather than the title shot for the interim belt.
However, Khabib’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, seems to be growing impatient of Ferguson's demands and issued an ultimatum to Ferguson in a tweet which he swiftly deleted after posting:
You have 6 days to make a deal with the UFC (and) if you don’t make a deal I’m going to find someone else to fight @danawhite
In case you didn’t know.
Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Michael Johnson at UFC 205 to maintain his untarnished MMA record of 24-0. On the other hand, Ferguson defeated Rafael Dos Anjos last November and has been undefeated for his last nine fights. Khabib and Ferguson are currently ranked #2 and #3 respectively in the latest UFC Lightweight rankings.
Also read: UFC News: Khabib Nurmagomedov wants a record-breaking fight with Conor McGregor in Russia
With the current lightweight champion Conor McGregor on a hiatus, Khabib wants to take out the next top ranked opponent below Conor to solidify his claim for a shot at the lightweight belt.
Tony Ferguson, however, didn’t seem to be too amused with the amount that he was going to be paid for the bout.
The heart of the matter:
Ferguson asked for an equal pay for both the fighters involved in the fight. However, UFC President Dana White did not approve of Ferguson’s request. UFC President Dana White had said the following in a press scrum:
“Tony said he will not do that fight unless he makes the same exact money that Khabib makes. Khabib has a different deal. So, that ain’t happening. Count that one out.”
Surprisingly, Khabib offered Tony an additional $200,000 from his own pocket to take the fight.
Tony, though, refused to give into Khabib’s unexpected generosity.
"I'm not going to take his money because we work for the same kind of thing. I would offer the same thing, but that’s not what I’m in here for. Honestly, we’re both two of the same kind of fighters because we fight for something different." Ferguson said.
With time running out before UFC 209, Khabib’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz seemed to grow impatient of Ferguson’s demands and issued an ultimatum to him on twitter. Ali later deleted the tweet but the message seemed to be clear.
What next?
Now that Khabib’s manager has made it clear that he would look for a new opponent for Khabib if Ferguson does not make a deal with the UFC before Monday, it would be interesting to see how Tony responds to the ultimatum.
Moreover, it would be interesting to see who will step in Ferguson’s place in case he refuses the fight.
Sportskeeda’s take:
Khabib vs Ferguson is the best way to go forward for the UFC and given how smart Dana White is as a promoter, we will most probably get to see the fight materialise in the near future.
With just nine weeks remaining for UFC 209, we can expect a major announcement very soon.
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