One of the many attempts to khabib nurmagomedov vs. To book Tony Ferguson, falls short at an unfortunate time.
After Conor McGregor had left the UFC light weight title, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson were booked to fight for the belt in the UFC 223 Main Event on 7 April 2018. Despite the disappointment of fans that McGregor De Riem, the Nurmagomedov VS. Ferguson -Matchup helped the Groans in a fight between the power hops division.
Nurmagomedov and Ferguson were booked many times in their career. UFC CEO Dana White calls the fight one of the biggest 'what IFS' in the history of mixed martial arts, but the matchmakers did everything to make the competition come true.
Fans were pumped to finally break down Nurmagomedov and Ferguson at UFC 223 in Brooklyn, before an April Fool's Day accident was bound.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Khabib vs. Ferguson considered the largest 'What If' of the UFC as a fight
During a pre-PUC 223 media obligation, Ferguson stumbled on a wire and only ran a significant Beenbond a few days before the event. While the injury was originally diagnosed as a small speed thrust, Ferguson was later forced to completely pull himself out of the map, forcing MMA media to break the unfortunately timed news on April Fool's Day.
ESPN's Brett Okamoto and old MMA journalist Ariel Helwani were forced to break the news on social media, despite the April's skepticism Fool's Day by fans. Some immediately thought that journalists such as Helwani, Okamoto and others participated in a coordinated joke, but it turned out to be a nightmare scenario for all involved.
After the first reports from Okamoto and Helwani, the UFC officially announced Ferguson's forced withdrawal from UFC 223 due to injury. The matchmakers quickly put together an empty title fight between Nurmagomedov and the then UFC champion Vederweight Max Holloway, who flew to New York on days on days to reduce the weight.
While Nurmagomedov and Holloway were confronted during a pre-combat conference during the Vechtweek, Holloway was forced from the map shortly after the UFC compiled the competition due to the medical care of the short-note-weight reduction.
The third time was the charm for the UFC buyer in front of UFC 223, because the matchmakers are already promoting Iaquinta to the main event suck to combat Nurmagomedov for the empty title. The fight held together and Nurmagomedov then won the fight by a decision to wake up in a new era in the UFC Lightweight Division.
The UFC later tried Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson to be booked for UFC 249. But again, the fight fell on, this time because Nurmagomedov was unable to travel to the start of the COVID-19 Pandemie. Ferguson lost in an interim title fight to Justin Gaethje on UFC 249, and Nurmagomedov later beat Gaethje in his pension fight at UFC 254.
Tony Ferguson stood up for MMA -3
Seven years after UFC 223, Ferguson will return his non-BUC to the cage against the old teammate of McGregor, Dillon Danis, at Global Fight League 2 in Los Angeles. Ferguson separated roads with the UFC after a long -term loss streak, including his most recent defeat against Michael Chiesa at UFC Abu Dhabi last year.
Nurmagomedov withdrew from MMA in 2020 after beating Gaethje on UFC 254. He entered the UFC Hall of Fame in 2022 next to his old teammate Daniel Cormier.
Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson would probably have been one of the greatest rivalry in the UFC if their long -awaited confrontation flourished. But now it is nothing more than a 'what if' that fell apart on April Fool's Day seven years ago.
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