Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t believe he should be stripped of his belt after withdrawing from UFC 249.
The undefeated lightweight champion did an Instagram Live where he said is stuck in Russia and UFC 249 would most likely go on without him. Following that, Ferguson called for Nurmagomedov to be stripped. For the lightweight champ, he says that proves “El Cucuy” is a stupid guy.
“My reaction is the same as [the] press conference, he’s just a stupid guy. Okay, strip me if this is my mistake. Like last time, April 2018, it was his mistake,” Nurmagomedov said to ESPN. “Right now, this is not Khabib mistake, this is coronavirus. This is two different things. I am not coronavirus, coronavirus is coronavirus, Khabib is Khabib, this is not the same. Separate, this is different, completely different. It’s like, I don’t know man.”
It’s not Khabib Nurmagomedov’s fault as he points out as there is a global pandemic happening. He also points to the fact that the NHL, NBA, MLB are all suspended due to the pandemic. So, him pulling out is not his fault.
Yet, Nurmagomedov says he would be open to seeing UFC 249 still take place despite him being off the card. It gives fighters another paycheque as fighters don’t know when the next one would be.
“Of course. If they want to make [a] show, let’s go. A lot of people want to fight because they don’t have money. They don’t have money, they have kids, they have family, they have like so many things,” Nurmagomedov explained. “Of course, I’m not going to say no. If they can, let’s go. I know Dana tries very hard.”
In the end, Khabib Nurmagomedov has pointed to a California pay-per-view in August as a potential date for the Tony Ferguson fight to happen. The lightweight champion also remains adamant the scrap will happen despite it falling through five times already.
What do you make of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s response to Tony Ferguson after he called for the champ to be stripped? Sound off in the comment section, PENN Nation!
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 4/2/2020.