{"id":218506,"date":"2017-01-19T16:31:36","date_gmt":"2017-01-20T00:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=218506"},"modified":"2017-01-19T16:31:36","modified_gmt":"2017-01-20T00:31:36","slug":"khabib-nurmagomedov-predicting-finish-tony-ferguson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/khabib-nurmagomedov\/khabib-nurmagomedov-predicting-finish-tony-ferguson\/","title":{"rendered":"Khabib Nurmagomedov predicting finish of Tony Ferguson"},"content":{"rendered":"

On March 4th, top ranked UFC lightweights Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will be stepping into the Octagon to fight for the interim lightweight championship<\/a> in UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor’s absence. It took several weeks for the UFC to finalize the bout, and while it looked as though the UFC and Ferguson would be able to reach a deal after Ferguson expressed his desire to hold out for more money from the promotion<\/a>, the promotion was able to secure the fight for the co-main event of UFC 209.<\/p>\n

\"Khabib<\/p>\n

Now, with the scrap finalized, Khabib Nurmagomedov spoke to MMAJunkie<\/a> to give his prediction for the bout, as well as his plans for the future:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what I want: A fight with Tony. I\u2019m going to finish him. After (that), finish Conor and the UFC maybe (will) want to make a rematch with Conor. But I say no. This is a very interesting situation. Finish Tony Ferguson, finish Conor McGregor \u2026 at the end of the year, maybe UFC (will) try to make a rematch. But I\u2019ll say, \u2018Bye-bye guys.\u2019 He doesn\u2019t deserve this. Then I\u2019ll fight with another real contender.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI need only Tony,\u201d Nurmagomedov said. \u201cI don\u2019t need your small guys like Jose Aldo or other guys. I need real, top-level fighters.\u2019 Because if I beat Jose or I beat Daniel Cormier, people are still talking about Tony Ferguson. That\u2019s why I said, \u2018Please give me Tony. I\u2019m going to finish his win streak. Finish him.\u2019 And after that, what happens? No more opponents.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the cage closes, I\u2019m going to smash him,\u201d Nurmagomedov said. \u201cI\u2019m going to make him tired and I want him to feel my power and feel my pressure and finish him \u2013 break his face, because this is what I do all my life. I\u2019m fighting in the UFC. I fought before the UFC in Russia, all the time fighting tough fighters. When the cage closes, nothing is personal. I want to just finish guys.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Khabib<\/p>\n

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com<\/a> on 1\/19\/2017.<\/p>\n