Khabib not sorry for Tony
Don’t count UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov among those who feel bad that Tony Ferguson was passed over for the interim title fight booked for UFC 236.
In an Instagram post, Nurmagomedov went into detail about his own missed title fight opportunities and why he doesn’t feel bad for Ferguson.
“I want to remind you guys, that before I become champion, I was close to the title fight 3 times and all 3 times I missed my opportunity,” Khabib wrote. “First was in July 2016 when I was offered to fight in Ramadan month and I turned it down, second was UFC 205 NYC when I was offered a title fight, bout agreement signed, but my title was given away, you know the story. Third time was UFC 209 where I was hospitalized and almost died.”
Nurmagomedov continued to explain that Ferguson should only have himself to blame if it’s true that he turned down the opportunity to fight for the interim title at UFC 236.
“Tony you had your chance and you missed it, and that’s your fault only. You know that I’m disqualified and can’t fight, but it’s not fair to strip me off the title, I fought 3 times in 9 months. I won and defended my belt.”
Khabib then ended his statement with some advice for the man who he’s been matched up with so many times but has yet to ever fight.
“As a fighter you deserve a title fight, you are great fighter and opponent, but now you have to fight or wait for my DQ to be over and fight(but UFC doesn’t want it). I don’t understand your offenses, if you fell down, you got to get up, not complain.”
Marreta ready to jump the line
The UFC light heavyweight division is not as strong or deep as it once was, so all it takes is one or two notable wins to earn a fighter a title shot. Case in point, Anthony Smith will challenge Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title this coming weekend.
Thiago Santos made a statement with a knockout win over Jan Blachowicz at UFC Prague on Saturday. With the win, Santos only sees gold in his future.
“I’m very happy,” Santos said (via MMAJunkie). “Now, I look forward. And, in front of me, I see only a title shot… There’s no one else in front of me. I beat the fourth in the rankings (Blachowicz). The third (Smith) is fighting for the title now. I’m the next one.”
Santos also shared with media at the post-fight press conference that he was hurt in the week leading up to the fight. After going through physical therapy on his knee, he decided to continue with the fight.
It was definitely a good decision considering the outcome and the way light heavyweight is shaking out, he’s definitely in the mix now.
Don’t know, don’t care
Dustin Poirier doesn’t know how he ended up getting his interim lightweight title fight at UFC 236 against Max Holloway, he’s just glad that it’s happening. Speaking to MMAJunkie this week, Poirier said that the way everything came together was a bit of a surprise, and he didn’t know it was coming.
“I’m not sure (how this happened),” Poirier said. “I don’t know. I don’t make the decisions. I don’t even know what happened. Honestly, these last few months I’ve been kept in the dark, really. I’ve been here seven weeks now in South Florida at my spot training. Not in a training camp preparing for anything, but just learning and staying on the mats. I just felt like something big was coming, and I decided to stay here. Good thing I did because I got the call for this one.”
Poirier also shared that Tony Ferguson was originally planned for the spot against Holloway but Ferguson turned it down for reasons that still aren’t clear.
“Originally they wanted Max and Tony, and then they called me,” Poirier said. “They didn’t really have a whole lot of plans, then at the last minute they tried to put together Max vs. Tony. Then they called and said, ‘If for some reason Max falls out or doesn’t take it, you’re going to fight Tony for the interim. If for some reason Tony doesn’t make it, then you’re going to fight Max for the interim.’ Tony apparently didn’t think it was the right fight at the right time, or he had something going on. I don’t know his exact story.”
Whatever happened behind closed doors, it worked out in Poirier’s favor. An interim title win could be big for his career, but it’s still up to UFC to follow through on unifying the titles for it to mean anything in the end.
Sunday Notebook
-After his win over Marcos Rogerio De Lima at UFC Prague yesterday, Stefan Struve said that he’s strongly considering retirement. “This is something I’ve thought over a whole lot,” Struve said. “I think everybody’s aware my heart is not 100 percent. When I made my comeback I told myself I would have about five years and I’ve been fighting a little longer since then. My heart is good, but there’s a very good opportunity that this is my last fight, so thank you very much.”
-Performance of the night bonuses from UFC Prague went to Thiago Santos, Stefan Struve, Michal Oleksiejczuk, and Dwight Grant.
Fight Announcements
-Eryk Anders vs. Khalil Rountree, Nikita Krylov vs. Ovince Saint Preux, Montel Jackson vs. Andre Soukhamthath, Wilson Reis vs. Alexandre Pantoja, and Boston Salmon vs. Khalid Taha were all announced for UFC 236 on April 13 from Atlanta.
-Carla Esparza vs. Livinha Souza is set for UFC Fort Lauderdale on April 27.
In case you missed it
–LIVE UFC PRAGUE REPORT: Real-time results & analysis of Blachowicz-Santos, Struve-De Lima
–ROUNDTABLE: Who does Dana White have in mind for Daniel Cormier’s next opponent?
–POLL: What was your favorite Georges St-Pierre fight?
Leave a Reply