UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov succeeded in defending his belt for the second time after defeating interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier via third-round submission at UFC 242 . Only days have passed since his successful title defense, but Nurmagomedov’s camp is already thinking who will be his next opponent. In a post-fight interview, UFC President Dana White announced that Tony Ferguson will be the third challenger of Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title.
Tony Ferguson, who is on a 12-fight winning streak, is currently the No. 1 contender in the UFC lightweight division. Once the fight becomes official, it will the fifth time that the UFC will be scheduling a match between Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, despite White’s announcement, it seems like Nurmagomedov’s camp is keeping an eye on another fighter and not Ferguson. In a recent interview with TMZ Sports , via YouTube , Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, revealed that the next opponent for “The Eagle” is former UFC middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
“Nobody really cares about what Tony says,” Abdelaziz said, as quoted by MMAjunkie . “Nobody gives a (expletive) really. As far as I know, GSP is next. That is what I want. Tony doesn’t get what he wants. We get what Khabib wants, and if Khabib calls me and says he wants Georges St-Pierre, Georges St-Pierre will be next.”
Tony Ferguson undeniably deserves to be Khabib Nurmagomedov’s next challenger more than anyone in the UFC lightweight division. Whenever he’s healthy, Ferguson has defeated everyone he has faced in the octagon. However, as of now, Ali Abdelaziz said that they are currently focused on giving Nurmagomedov a match that will be good for his legacy.
“If you’re going to compare Tony Ferguson, he beat a whole bunch of guys, but he never been a champion,” Abdelaziz said. “I’m talking about if Khabib is going to fight for legacy, a fight with Georges St-Pierre will be a huge fight. ”
The respect between Dustin Poirer and Khabib Nurmagomedov after #UFC242 ! ? pic.twitter.com/WMCM4A60tT
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) September 8, 2019
Georges St-Pierre will definitely love hearing those words from the mouth of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s manager. St-Pierre may have already retired, but he has said on numerous occasions that he’s willing to fight again in the octagon if the UFC will schedule a match between him and Nurmagomedov. Like Nurmagomedov’s camp, St-Pierre also believes that fighting “The Eagle” will not only give him a huge payday, but it will also cement his status as the greatest MMA fighter of all time.
As of now, UFC President Dana White still hasn’t given any response to Ali Abdelaziz’s recent statements. In the past months, White has been saying that they have no intention of granting Georges St-Pierre’s request to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, according to a previous The Inquisitr article, White said that they would consider talking about the fight if Nurmagomedov’s camp badly wants to make it happen.
