Manager: Khabib Nurmagomedov Never Turned Down Tony Ferguson At MSG
Manager: Khabib Nurmagomedov Never Turned Down Tony Ferguson At MSG
Khabib Nurmagomedov did not refuse to fight Tony Ferguson at UFC 217 in Madison Square Garden, according to his manager.
Top UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson made waves in the MMA world early Wednesday morning, claiming Khabib Nurmagomedov refused a fight with him Nov. 4 at UFC 217 in New York's historic Madison Square Garden.
Rather, he claimed Nurmagomedov's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, refused the fight.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/TonyFergusonXT/status/895170888089436161" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Speaking to FloCombat via text message Wednesday, Abdelaziz flatly denied Ferguson's claim.
"Tony is full of shit," Abdelaziz said. "We accepted the fight [and] never turned down MSG [Madison Square Garden]. He's looking for an easy way out. He wants to fight someone else."
The mystery grows. Nurmagomedov and Ferguson have been linked to fight three times in the past.
First was The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale in December 2015, which Nurmagomedov pulled out of due to a rib injury. Then, Ferguson was injured and pulled from their UFC on Fox 19 matchup in April 2016. Finally, Nurmagomedov holstered their last matchup with weight-cut complications. They were scheduled to scrap at UFC 209 in March.
Will November finally be the time they clash inside the cage? It sounds like neither party is opposed, despite Ferguson's tweet.
We reached out to Ferguson's management for clarification as well but haven't heard back as of this writing. Stay tuned to FloCombat as the situation continues to develop.
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Rather, he claimed Nurmagomedov's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, refused the fight.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/TonyFergusonXT/status/895170888089436161" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Speaking to FloCombat via text message Wednesday, Abdelaziz flatly denied Ferguson's claim.
"Tony is full of shit," Abdelaziz said. "We accepted the fight [and] never turned down MSG [Madison Square Garden]. He's looking for an easy way out. He wants to fight someone else."
The mystery grows. Nurmagomedov and Ferguson have been linked to fight three times in the past.
First was The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale in December 2015, which Nurmagomedov pulled out of due to a rib injury. Then, Ferguson was injured and pulled from their UFC on Fox 19 matchup in April 2016. Finally, Nurmagomedov holstered their last matchup with weight-cut complications. They were scheduled to scrap at UFC 209 in March.
Will November finally be the time they clash inside the cage? It sounds like neither party is opposed, despite Ferguson's tweet.
We reached out to Ferguson's management for clarification as well but haven't heard back as of this writing. Stay tuned to FloCombat as the situation continues to develop.
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