HYDEN BLOG: Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone, and Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov

Frank Hyden MMATorch Columnist

Khabib
Sep 7, 2019; Abu Dhabi, UAE; Khabib Nurmagomedov (red gloves) greets Dustin Poirier (blue gloves) during UFC 242 at The Arena. Mandatory Credit: Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports

No events this week so I’ll touch upon some big news in the MMA world.


HYDEN BLOG: Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone, and Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov

Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone

Conor McGregor is scheduled to face Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 on January 18th. This is a huge fight for a number of reasons.

One, it should be an extremely exciting fight. McGregor is pretty much always exciting to watch, as is Cerrone. And you know that they’re both going to want to shine on this big a stage.

Two, this could be the last time we see McGregor in the UFC…

The way McGregor is going right now, he could get arrested for attacking a baby in a carriage. Hell, he already punched an old man in a bar and just acted like a fool on numerous other occasions. He’s also being investigated for sexual assault on two separate women. Now, I strongly believe in innocent until proven guilty, but these are serious charges. If the UFC knows the charges are junk, maybe they should come out and say so and fully back him. Otherwise, it looks like they just want to use him to make money while they still can.

Three, McGregor has said that he wants this to be the Year of McGregor. He wants to fight three times this year, culminating with a rematch against UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. If McGregor loses to Cerrone, this will all go down the tubes like the Summer of George.

And you know Cerrone wants that pelt on his wall.

Yeah, McGregor isn’t who he once was, but this is still a huge fight and this will be the biggest audience to see Cerrone fight since he lost to Jorge Masvidal and Rafael dos Anjos at some of the UFC on FOX shows.

Also, the promotion and press for this fight will be the biggest he’s ever had. This is a big opportunity for him and if he beats McGregor, he sets himself up for some big fights. We won’t have to wait long for this fight, about a month and a half, which is a good thing.


Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov

Tony Ferguson has signed an agreement to fight UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov on April 18th. This fight has been signed and scheduled four times before and never happened, so let’s all hope that the fifth time is the charm.

I’ve been excited for this fight before (cue the GTA: San Andreas CJ gif) and been disappointed every time, but I can’t help but get excited for this one again.

This is the fight, the biggest fight of the year!

Yes, Conor McGregor plans on fighting three times this year, and there’s plenty of other huge fights to get excited about, but this is special.

Ferguson has won twelve fights in a row, against good competition, mind you. He hasn’t been beating bums or anything, he’s beaten names like Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, Kevin Lee, Rafael dos Anjos, Josh Thomson, and Edson Barboza. However, he’s fighting a guy who’s never lost.

Nurmagomedov is 28-0 and has been as dominant as possible. He’s yet to show weakness in the cage, let alone be in danger of losing. It’s pretty much impossible to not be super excited for this fight.

The undefeated and dominant monster versus the man on a tremendous roll. Of all of Nurmagomedov’s opponents, Ferguson is the one who represents the biggest threat to him so far.

I’m sure plenty of people don’t think Ferguson can win, but I do. I think Ferguson has a good chance to win. I don’t want to make a pick right now, I’d like to see both of them and hear them first, but this is definitely the biggest threat Nurmagomedov has faced. The champ should be favored heading into the fight but I think it’ll be close.

Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank


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