Khabib Nurmagomedov targeting Tony Ferguson fight in March or April 2020 in Russia

Khabib Nurmagomedov targeting Tony Ferguson fight in March or April 2020 in Russia

9. 10. 2019

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has a proposed date and location for a fight with former interim champion Tony Ferguson.

Nurmagomedov recently defended his title for the second time by defeating Dustin Poirier by third-round submission at UFC 242. Likely to face number-one contender Tony Ferguson next, Nurmagomedov recently spoke to RT Sport about his hopes of fighting Ferguson in the Gazprom Arena in Russia.

“It will be in March or April. I said it clearly – I want to fight in a large arena, and the only large indoor arena in Russia is Gazprom Arena (in St. Petersburg) ... I have to say that Tony Ferguson deserves it more. You have to give him credit. He is on a 12-fight win streak and he deserves it more than Conor."

Khabib and Ferguson have been booked to fight each other four times, with everything from weight-cutting related incidents and last minutes injuries scrapping their fight bookings. Discussing a rematch with former two-division champion Conor McGregor, Khabib said the Irishman needs to ‘earn’ another shot at the title.

“Conor has to come back (and) stop hitting old people. He is a professional fighter. He should come back, win, earn his place and get in line.”

Ferguson (25-3) is currently on 12-fight winning streaks at 155-pounds, the longest in UFC lightweight history. “El Cucuy” has picked up wins against the best at lightweight during his impressive run, such as Donald Cerrone, Kevin Lee and Edson Barboza.