The UFC has attempted to book a fight between UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov and streaking contender Tony Ferguson four times. Shockingly — and to a degree that has caused some fight fans to label the matchup as cursed — the pair have never actually made it into the cage together.

The UFC is now attempting to make this fight happen for a fifth time, having scheduled a title fight between the pair for UFC 249 in Brooklyn, New York this April.

Unsurprisingly, superstitious fight fans are already worrying the fight will fall through again.

For those fight fans, Tony Ferguson has a message.

The top lightweight contender addressed worries that his long-awaited fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov is cursed on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday.

“F**k no, you can stop right there. Don’t even get the fans going on that shit. We’re going to set the pace right now – I want the encouragement,” a fired up Ferguson said (via MMA Mania). “Fuck you, don’t watch this shit, don’t buy our stuff. Go watch Bellator or some other bullshit. Go find some knock off copy of what he got going on here … this is the OGs, I’m the original genius right here.”

Tony Ferguson is currently on a ridiculous, 12-fight win-streak, highlighted by impressive victories over top flight foes like Josh Thomson, Edson Barboza, Lando Vannata, Rafael dos Anjos, Kevin Lee, Anthony Pettis, and most recently, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. He’s 25-3 overall.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is an even more remarkable 28-0 overall. He’s riding the momentum of a submission victory over Dustin Poirier, which marked his second successful defense of the UFC lightweight title. His first defense occurred in late 2018, when he submitted Conor McGregor.

Do you think the fifth time will be the charm for this Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson matchup? If so, who do you have winning?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 12/3/2019.