Undefeated UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov is scheduled to defend his title – a 28-match win streak – against Tony Ferguson on April 18. But some MMA fans wonder if the match will actually take place.
Injuries, health issues, and scheduling conflicts have created last-minute barriers to the match-up four times already. But both parties look forward to the opportunity to face each other in April.
“To be honest, I lacked this motivation for my last fights,” Khabib said in a Tweet. “They’re not the same as Tony Ferguson. That’s why I feel that fire burning inside me again.”
Fans hope to finally see this face-off as the pair headline the UFC 249: Khabib vs. Ferguson.
Khabib Nurmagomedov Rises in the UFC
Born in Dagestan, Russia, Khabib comes from a pro wrestling family. His father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov championed Ukraine in the ‘90s, and his uncle Nurmagomed received a World Champion title in Sambo. Khabib himself began training at the age of 5, learning various mixed martial arts and wrestling techniques from his family.
While he had already spent some time in the UFC circuit for a decade, Khabib first found himself at the center of public attention in 2018. His triumphal win in the boxing match with Conor McGregor launched him into the spotlight. In the course of the fight, Nurmagomedov set a new UFC record for the most takedowns in a single fight: 21 successful takedowns out of 28 attempts.
Since then, Khabib’s fame has blossomed, earning the fighter millions per match. While injuries and conflicts have riddled his career as well – and kept him from competing against Ferguson in the past – each successful match earns Khabib anywhere from $2 million to $6 million.
Estimates have yet to come out, but Khabib vs. Ferguson should no doubt prove lucrative as well. The match-up pits UFC’s best lightweight fighters against each other for the first time.
A Long Time Coming
Khabib was first scheduled to fight Ferguson in 2015. Khabib dropped out of the match due to a rib injury. A year later, Ferguson suffered a similar injury, canceling the match-up yet again.
The next year, a weight-loss related complication took Khabib out of the game, and finally, in 2018, Ferguson suffered a freak knee injury just prior to the match.
Now, Khabib holds the record for longest win streak, having won 28 matches in a row with no losses. Fans look forward to watching Khabib go head to head with a worthy opponent.
Khabib Nurmagomedov Prefers a Challenging Environment
For his own part, Khabib prefers to play against the odds. “In fact, I’m much more comfortable when I’m not supported,” he claims.
“When many people want you to lose, you want to show that they are wrong. I want to “dare”. When I went out to fight Porje, I thought they would support the opponent. But it turned out quite differently. And I felt a pressure I’d never felt before. I see a lot of friends, a lot of family members. And it was very difficult to impress them. That’s why there’s so much pressure. With McGregor, I knew I was getting booed, I was ready for it.”
With that in mind, fans may want to consider booing Khabib in his eventual match-up with Ferguson. Either way, the face-off has already earned more hype than most UFC events for its history of cancelations, injuries, and other scheduling conflicts.
Even now, with both players uninjured, concerns have circulated that the COVID-19 pandemic may interrupt the April 18 match. UFC President Dana White confirmed on Twitter that the match-up has not been canceled, but others are calling for caution.
Will this finally be the year that Khabib vs. Ferguson happens?
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