Tony Ferguson has responded after receiving praise from his longtime rival in Khabib Nurmagomedov.

‘El Cucuy’ and ‘The Eagle’ were slated to collide on April 18. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the promotions reigning lightweight champion was forced to remain in his home country of Russia and thus could not compete. The cancellation marked the fifth time that a proposed bout between Ferguson and Nurmagomedov failed to come to fruition.

With that, Dana White and company decided to book Tony Ferguson in an interim lightweight title fight with Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 on May 9.

Unfortunately for Ferguson, things did not go his way at all last weekend, and ‘The Highlight’ ultimately emerged victorious by way of fifth round TKO.

Shortly following Tony Ferguson’s tough loss, Khabib Nurmagomedov took to Twitter with the following classy message for his longtime rival.

”Whatever happened is in the past. Heads up Tony, I hope everything is good with you and your family. When your son grow up, he’ll be proud of you Tony Ferguson.”

Earlier this evening, ‘El Cucuy’ responded to Nurmagomedov with the following message.

https://twitter.com/tonyfergusonxt/status/1261471232307851264

““Respect” Khabib Nurmagomedov. You Still Owe Me 20 Pushups 💯 Glad Your Pops Is Doing Better 🌱 I’ll See You Soon Kid, Keep Training For The Real Finale. -Champ”

Nurmagomedov is expected to have a title unification with the promotions new interim lightweight champ in Justin Gaethje this September.

As for Tony Ferguson, there has been no timeline given for his next Octagon appearance. ‘El Cucuy’ has been going back and forth with Conor McGregor in recent days, so it will be interesting to see if that trash talk leads to an eventual fight booking.

What do you think of Tony Ferguson’s response to Khabib Nurmagomedov? Share your thoughts in the comments section below Penn Nation!

This article first appeared on bjpenndotcom on May 15, 2020