Tony Ferguson appears to be the next man in line for the chance to fight dominant lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and he wasn’t impressed by ‘The Eagle’s’ victory over Dustin Poirier this past weekend.
“Lazy. One-dimensional,” Tony Ferguson tolf ESPN when asked about Nurmagomedov’s performance. “Nothing against him, both guys did awesome fight week. I know there was a lot of nerves and stuff. Khabib showed up, he obviously won. He put the pressure on Dustin and Dustin didn’t have an answer for it. Props to Khabib for winning but like I said, it’s lazy. We’ve prepared for this guy many times. He’s a good fighter but I know how to break that goat.”
Ferguson then went on to clarify what he meant by Khabib being lazy.
“Well, being my type of fighter and my type of guy, you know I throw a lot of barrage of punches, kicks, knees and elbows. So when I see someone pushing against the cage and not really doing too much, being active and just kind of putting themselves like a wet blanket. In jiu-jitsu, we use that saying. He’s a wet blanket, just sitting there. It’s a lot of pressure. When I fought Danny Castillo he did the same thing. It’s interesting how Khabib fights but to me it’s just boring, it’s lazy.”
Ferguson also says he believes he has spotted holes in the champion’s game that he can exploit.
“With him, I see a lot of holes in his game. But he’s got a high-level team with him and obviously they know what they’re dealing with so they’re going to go to the drawing board and try to fix those holes. I think Dustin was in awe during fight week. I think it was probably just a culture shock. It was probably a lot for both fighters. With that being said, in the next fight, you’re probably going to have one of the best Khabibs you’ve ever seen. So they’re going to fix a lot of holes in his game.”
Dana white indicated after UFC 242 that Ferguson is next in line, but that if he passes up on the opportunity then Conor McGregor could get the rematch he’s been calling for instead.
However, Ferguson sounds ready and eager to lock down the fight before the end of the year.
“If I was in charge, we’d do this sh*t in December,” Ferguson said. “You know what, I’m calling it right now. We’re gonna do this sh*t in December. We’re gonna let Khabib go and eat his hamburgers with cheese and all the other bullsh*t – enjoy it, Fathead, don’t get too fat – you know I’m coming at you harder than Tiramisu Tuesday’s. It’s still there. It’s popping. I’ve got some new sh*t for you guys. I’m really excited.”
