Tony Ferguson never managed to make it to a fight with longtime rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, but he remains confident he\u2019d have beaten not only Nurmagomedov, but his prot\u00e9g\u00e9 Islam Makhachev.<\/p>\n
Nurmagomedov and Makhachev have established themselves as two of the most dominant fighters of all-time with a combined 57-1 record and seven lightweight title defenses, with the retired Nurmagomedov having also recently cornered Makhachev in his UFC 322 welterweight championship triumph over Jack Della Maddalena.<\/p>\n
During Nurmagomedov\u2019s run at the top, he and Ferguson were matched up several times, but a variety of issues caused their in-cage encounters to be canceled much to the disappointment of fans. Nurmagomedov retired in 2020, putting the fight permanently to rest.<\/p>\n
To this day, the 41-year-old Ferguson remains confident he could have solved the puzzle of the undefeated Nurmagomedov, and he also believes he\u2019d give Makhachev a run for his money.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, in my opinion, Islam was one of the dudes that always had Khabib in the practice room,\u201d Ferguson told Helen Yee Sports<\/a>. \u201cAt the time, it was kind of like [Aljamain Sterling] and Merab [Dvalishvili], just feeling like when \u2018Aljo\u2019 left then Merab finally started to shine and stuff. It\u2019s the same thing with Khabib and Islam. I always thought Islam was more of a conditioned athlete, and doing his thing, but best of luck.<\/p>\n \u201cBut in in my prime, kick your ass.\u201d<\/p>\n Ferguson gave Makhachev plenty of respect for his recent domination of Della Maddalena and suggested that perhaps Makhachev was a better fighter than Nurmagomedov all along. He theorizes that it wasn\u2019t until Nurmagomedov lost his father and fighting mentor Abdulmanap in 2020 and subsequently retired later that year that the path was cleared for Makhachev to stake his own claim to greatness.<\/p>\n \u201cI think when Khabib\u2019s dad was there, I think [Makhachev] was in the shadows not wanting to pass him just because out of respect when it goes to your teacher and your coaches and certain things like that,\u201d Ferguson said. \u201cI think when everything was all said and done and Khabib retired and the family things and so on and so forth that he finally had his time to shine.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s his own athlete. I don\u2019t think he really concerned himself about Khabib other than what he\u2019s doing. I think at the end of the day, we\u2019re all athletes when it comes down to it. We\u2019re trying to pass it and pay it forward to the next generation of athletes. But I tell you what, one or two years at Tony Ferguson\u2019s camp and the academy, and you\u2019ll be better than Dagestan wrestlers any day.\u201d<\/p>\n Ferguson currently reigns as the Misfits Boxing interim middleweight champion, having traded in MMA gloves for the traditional big reds. He defends his belt against Warren Spencer on Dec. 20 in Dubai.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s unclear if \u201cEl Cucuy\u201d ever plans to compete under MMA rules again, he admitted he\u2019s intrigued by the possibility of competing at the planned UFC White House card against either Nurmagomedov or Conor McGregor.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to be real, there\u2019s only two people that I want to go and fight regardless of where it\u2019s going to be at, and the interesting fights would be either Conor or Khabiber,\u201d Ferguson said. \u201cI think regardless of what happens, it\u2019s going to sell tickets, good or bad, literally that\u2019s what it\u2019s for. The hype.<\/p>\n \u201cBut you put me up there with Khabiber at the White House, and I guarantee you guys are going to have fireworks. You have Khabib-Tony Round 6, make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Busy. Jon Jones recently took a trip to Russia<\/a> where he playfully sparred with Khamzat Chimaev, fired some guns, and hung around the infamous Ramzan Kadyrov.<\/p>\n Convenient. Ilia Topuria is suddenly very interested<\/a> in making a fight with Paddy Pimblett happen following Arman Tsarukyan\u2019s big win at UFC Qatar.<\/p>\n Sidelined. Chris Weidman tells all after a boxing match with longtime UFC rival<\/a> Anderson Silva fell through.<\/p>\n Law. New York mayor Eric Adams wants justice after Dillon Danis and Islam Makhachev\u2019s crew brawled at Madison Square Garden<\/a>.<\/p>\n Punishment. KSW has new rules to further penalize fighters who miss weight<\/a>.<\/p>\n JAXXON crew talks UFC 322.<\/p>\n SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE<\/p>\n Two dudes who might fight for UFC titles in 2026?<\/p>\n Brad Pickett comeback not happening anytime soon.<\/p>\n Name another champ with this much sauce.<\/p>\n He can\u2019t keep getting away with this.<\/p>\n Arnold Allen (20-3) vs. Jean Silva (16-3); UFC 324, Jan. 24<\/p>\n Just a heads up, no Morning Report tomorrow since it\u2019s Thanksgiving in the United States. For those celebrating, enjoy the holiday!<\/p>\n If you find something you\u2019d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee<\/a> or @JedKMeshew<\/a> on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, and like us on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n