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Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson has been booked and cancelled four times before. The MMA gods have just not been kind towards this one.
However, the most anticipated fight in recent memory will finally come to fruition in April 2020 at UFC 249 and both camps are putting in the extra hours into their respective preparations.
Khabib Nurmagomedov's coach and father Abdulmanap spoke to RT Sport about his son's training strategy to tackle 'El Cucuy' while also sharing his thoughts on what he thinks is the biggest fight in UFC history.
Abdulmanap called his son's highly-anticipated showdown against Ferguson as the most important fight in the promotion's history.
“Because this isn’t the first attempt, I think it is one of the most important events in this sport, “It was planned four times and called off twice because of Khabib and twice because of Tony. Millions of fans are waiting for it. There’s never been anything like this in UFC history. It’s the most important fight in UFC history. It is important not only for me but for my republic, my country, and all our supporters.”
Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov also highlighted his undefeated son's improvement in the striking department while also adding that Khabib won't stray away from the plan he comes up for him.
“Throughout all this time we were able to improve our skills in different aspects, especially striking technique. We surprise [opponents] more and more each time. Javier [Mendez] promises to surprise this time but Khabib won’t stray from his father’s plan.”
Abdulmanap called Ferguson a worthy opponent who has the knack of finishing off his fights despite being in precarious positions.
“First of all, he’s got good endurance, a good winning streak. He’s been caught, but he finishes all his fights with submissions, cuts or technical knockouts. He has a good arsenal, he is a worthy opponent and we are preparing accordingly.” H/t Credit: RT Sport
The Lightweight Championship fight is indeed one of the most important fights in the promotion. Will El Cucuy manage to hand Nurmagomedov his first MMA loss or will the Dagestani Phenom continue his undisputed dominance?
