‘Fat’ Khabib, ‘Lucky Punch’ Fergie Reignite Feud

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

One of the most-desired fights that never happened in mixed martial arts (MMA) was a highly-anticipated showdown between former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Kightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and ex-interim kingpin, Tony Ferguson.

But, it wasn’t for a lack of trying because the promotion booked the bout five times, only for it to go up in smoke on every single occasion for one reason or another. Nevertheless, the two men still don’t like one another very much, and even though “The Eagle” is long retired and “El Cucuy” is still in limbo regarding his fight future, they couldn’t help but to re-ignite their feud recently.

During a recent chat on the “Inspire Me” podcast, Nurmagomedov reflected on what could have been in a fight between the two men, saying that Ferguson’s only shot at defeating him was with a lucky punch.

“I feel a little bit sad, but at the same time, I always understand my game it’s the worst for him,” Nurmagomedov said (transcribed by MMA Fighting). “He don’t have wrestling. He don’t have grappling. What’s he going to do with me? How is he going to stop me? Only chance how he can stop me, it was only a lucky punch.

“Like with everybody, like with Conor [McGregor], with [Dustin] Poirier, with Justin Gaethje, everybody talks about, ‘Oh, they can stop him if Khabib [going to get caught with] a lucky punch.’ But other stuff, how’s he going to stop me?”

Of course, once Ferguson caught wind of the comments he was quick to whip up his own retort to one of the greatest 155-pound fighters in the history of he sport.

“Lucky punch now … [I] was going to leave you alone but ew,” Ferguson wrote on Instagram. “Just couldn’t help it. Ya [fat f*ck]. What a f*cking p*ssy, coward like chicken. Keep hiding Khabieber 29-1. Until further notice, let ol’ fathead know what time it is crew.”

Khabib retired undefeated (29-0, 13-0 UFC) as champion after defeating Justin Gaethje at UFC 252 in Oct. 2020. As for “El Cucy,” he suffered his eighth straight loss inside the Octagon after getting submitted by Michael Chiesa earlier this month.

After his most recent setback, Ferguson hinted at retirement, but then backtracked a few days later by saying that he still plans on competing. Whether or not that’s inside the Octagon remains to be seen.

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