UFC legend Tony Ferguson has offered his thoughts about the upcoming relocation of Islam Makhachev to Welterweight.
During his long term of office in the UFC, which ended in a terrible eight-fighter-losing series, the greatest rivalry of Tony Ferguson with Khabib Nurmagomedov was, even though they never bumped into the cage.
The two light weights were planned to fight each other five times, but for several reasons it never succeeded in meeting each other in the cage.
Since Nurmagomedov's Shock Pension in 2020, he has drawn his attention to becoming one of the best coaches in sport and one of his students is none other than Islam Makhachev.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Tony Ferguson comments on the approaching relocation of Islam Makhachev to 170 pounds
Makhachev until recently ruled over the lightweight division when Dana White shocked that the Russian had left his title in the pursuit of a good -weight fight against Jack della Maddalena.
Because of the narrow tires of Makhachev with Khabib, he and the unbeaten 'eagle' are constantly compared to each other, because they both have extremely comparable skills.
It is generally assumed that Makhachev is the better striker of the two, but Khabib is considered the more dominant grappler.
Nevertheless, 'El Cucuy' claimed that Makhachev is the better grappler from him and Khabib, and also offers his opinion about the approaching relocation of Makhachev to 170 pounds.
“Makhachev (his title defended how often)? That is much more than (Khabib) and he delivered weight, so when it goes in and you have that, I think it is a smart move (that he goes up). If you go up, you will try to build up an inheritance, you will do such things,” he told Helen Yee.
“Someone asked me who I think is a better wrestler from Makhachev and Khabib. I think Makhachev to be honest is a better grappler.
Ferguson is still willing to coach against Khabib Nurmagomedov on Tuf
During their rivalry, Ferguson and Khabib were associated with possible headliner from the ultimate hunter against each other and Ferguson even revealed that it was a signed deal.
Although it did not flourish, 'El Cucuy' claimed that he would still be willing to coach against Nurmagomedov in the reality TV series, which may end with a kind of competition.
“I would certainly take the opportunity to coach against him. He is a knuckle, and he is still fat. He wears that hat, and I would like to clean the mats with it. I think it would be an interesting trek,” Ferguson claimed.