Surprisingly, Tony Ferguson is calling for Khabib Nurmagomedov to be stripped of the Lightweight title.
UFC officials have yet to officially confirm that the fight between Ferguson and Nurmagomedov is cancelled for UFC 249, the Lightweight Champion has stated that he won’t be able to make it to the pay-per-view due to the lockdown in Russia.
Ferguson blasted the reigning champion when speaking to ESPN, labeling Nurmagomedov “scared” to fight him and says that the undefeated fighter should be stripped of the belt:
“Honestly, I was very upset. He was in Abu Dhabi. [He] had the chance to be able to come back before the borders were closed in Russia. Decided to go back to Dagestan, not finish his training camp. The guy does not want to fight. He’s scared, running and should be stripped of his title.”
The chances of Nurmagomedov being stripped of the lightweight title is highly doubtful due to the way Dana White has approached the UFC 249 pay-per-view altogether. Since the event was cancelled at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, the UFC President has been adamant about keeping the show going; however, White has yet to release information on where the pay-per-view will take place.
UFC 249 has yet to be cancelled; however, with the main event scrapped and the location still unknown, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the show ends up being axed. Nurmagomedov responded to being stripped of the belt and questions why people are blaming him for the fight falling through (Transcript courtesy of MMA Fighting):
“We talk about where we going to fight,” Nurmagomedov said during an Instagram Live session on Thursday. “U.S., Europe, Emirates, Asia, whatever, but nobody knows location, but everybody wants I fly somewhere. UFC don’t show us location. Where we going to fight? This is what I’m talking about. I don’t understand this. The UFC tried to find a location last almost one month. They don’t find. What about me? This is my mistake?”
Speculation is that Justin Gaethje will end up fighting Tony Ferguson on April 18th. As always, we’ll keep you updated on the situation.