MMA News: Tony Ferguson Burns McGregor And Threatens To Destroy Nurmagomedov

UFC lightweight fighter Tony Ferguson could be forgiven if he is getting frustrated. The lightweight division has descended into the sort of farce common in WWE wrestling, and it’s clear that Ferguson is not impressed. To be fair explaining the situation in the UFC lightweight division can seem akin to explaining astrophysics to a class of fourth-grade children. Conor McGregor is the UFC lightweight champion, except that he isn’t because Tony Ferguson is the UFC interim lightweight champion.

What we do know is that Tony Ferguson will fight Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 and the winner will be the undisputed UFC lightweight champion. Or will they, because Conor McGregor is the real champion and he has not defended, relinquished or been stripped of the title. The winner of Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov is rumored to challenge McGregor when The Notorious returns to the Octagon this fall.

The situation is confusing, and it has arisen largely because UFC boss Dana White allowed McGregor to spend last year preparing to fight Floyd Mayweather under boxing rules. McGregor’s absence means that the lightweight championship will have been in limbo for close to two years by the time McGregor returns.

The Notorious is clearly the only person who seems to be enjoying the current situation. After all various reports claim that McGregor earned anywhere between $30 and $100 million for his losing effort against Mayweather. Those are the sort of purses that most MMA fighters can only dream about.

Tony Ferguson Vows To Leave Nurmagomedov ‘Bloody’ After ‘Dancing Circles’ Around Him

As reported by MMA Fighting, Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov has all the hallmarks of being a classic fight. Both men are enjoying long unbeaten runs and many would argue that they are the top talents in the UFC lightweight division. This is the fourth time that a bout between Ferguson and Nurmagomedov has been scheduled, but the three previous attempts failed as a result of injury or ill health to one or other of the fighters.

Ferguson is clearly itching to get the fight on, and the hype has already begun. Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Ferguson revealed his frustrations, stating that the situation around UFC 223 “bothers the s**t out of him.” In an expletive-laden interview, Ferguson claims that Nurmagomedov “is not going to touch him.”

Ferguson goes on to claim that he will “dance circles” around Nurmagomedov and that his knees and elbows will leave the undefeated Russian “bloody.”

As reported by the Express, Ferguson is clearly frustrated by McGregor’s failure to defend his title. Ferguson let McGregor have both barrels, claiming that The Notorious just “isn’t interested in defending his title.” Ferguson states that he was offered a contract to fight McGregor but that “they offered me a fighter that didn’t want to fight. The dude didn’t seem interested. He doesn’t seem interested, to the public and to anybody else, to defend his belt.”

Ferguson has clearly been angered by the McGregor situation, he says that he wants to “clean house” and “get rid of the trash” in the lightweight division. If Ferguson can overcome Khabib Nurmagomedov he may get the opportunity to do exactly that.