The fight to usurp the lightweight throne of Conor McGregor is the single greatest 155 lb title fight in the sport's history.
If we are to believe Dana White, Conor McGregor won't be the UFC lightweight champion on April 7. Once the main event of UFC 223 begins, the victor will be the undisputed king of the 155 lb division.
The fight between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov has fallen through three times. The first attempt in December 2015 ended with Khabib pulling out with a rib injury. When they were scheduled to headline UFC on Fox 19, Ferguson withdrew after doctors told him he had fluid and blood in his lung. Then, of course, Nurmagomedov's
botched weight cut forced him out of UFC 209's co-main for the interim strap.
Fans will be sincerely hoping that fourth time's the charm. Ahead of their highly-anticipated title fight, we give you everything you need to know about the elite lightweights. Starting with the undefeated Dagestani.
Khabib Nurmagomedov
Nickname: "The Eagle".
Birthplace: Makhachkala, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.
Tale of the Tape
Age: 29, D.O.B. 20/9/1988.
Height: 5'10".
Reach: 70 in.
Leg reach: 40 in.
https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/951501799286099968
The Dojo
Gym: American Kickboxing Academy and Gadzhi Makhachev Freestyle Wrestling Club.
Notable training partners: UFC Light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, former UFC women's featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie, former WSOF and PFL welterweight champion Jon Fitch, former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson, former Bellator light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgYSfDKlKw9/?taken-by=khabib_nurmagomedov
Performances
Record: 25-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC.
Eight of his wins have come by knockout or TKO, he has eight submission victories and has gone to the judges' scorecards nine times.
Achievements: One UFC Performance bonus, 2016 International Fighter of the Year at the World MMA Awards.
2009 World Combat Sambo Championships (-74 kg) Gold Medalist, 2010 World Cup in Combat Sambo (-82 kg) Silver Medalist, 2010 World Combat Sambo Championships (-82 kg) Gold Medalist, 2009 Russian Combat Sambo Championships (-74 kg) Gold Medalist.
2012 Men's No-Gi Expert Welterweight Champion and 2012 ADCC Rules No-Gi Expert Welterweight Champion at NAGA World Championships, European Champion of Army Hand-to-Hand Combat, European Pankration Champion.
Records: Most takedowns in a single UFC fight. He nailed 21 takedowns of 27 attempts in three rounds against Abel Trujillo.
Biggest win: Edson Barboza at UFC 219. Conveniently, this was his last trip to the Octagon. On paper, it was a nightmare match-up for Nurmagomedov. Barboza is one of the most-feared strikers in the division, has a reach advantage and incredible takedown defence.
In the end, though, Nurmagomedov made it look like child's play. He mauled his way past the lionhearted Brazillian to score a dominant 30-25, 30-25, 30-24 victory. This was the one that earned him his title shot and for our money, it was his most impressive performance to date.
Other notable wins: Rafael dos Anjos, Michael Johnson, Gleison Tibau, Abel Trujillo, Pat Healy.
Last defeat: N/A.
Oddities
Seeing him fight is a blessing: Those pesky injuries have limited the number of times Nurmagomedov has appeared inside the Octagon. In 2014, there was an audible groan in the 3Arena's media room when Dana White informed media that he blew out his knee 20 minutes after signing a bout agreement to fight Donald Cerrone.
He fought once last year, twice in 2016, didn't feature at all in 2015 and once in 2014. So every time we actually get to see him fight really is a gift. Savour it.
Wrestled a bear: When he was a child, Nurmagomedov befriended a bear cub in his native Dagestan... no really. The subsequent footage of him wrestling the animal has gone down in MMA folklore.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjfOeLQG9-M
Religion: Usually, a sport's star's religious beliefs are entirely irrelevant, but not in Nurmagomedov's case. As a devout Sunni Muslim, he observes Ramadan. This means that he is unable to take fights during mid-summer because of the fasting.
https://twitter.com/TeamKhabib/status/722230850633510912
Trash talk: Nurmagomedov has been known to talk smack between rounds and even mid-fight. While mauling Michael Johnson at UFC 205, he famously told him 'to give up' because the fight was already over. Sure enough, 'The Menace' heeded his advice and tapped from a kimura in the third round.
In between rounds against Barboza, he yelled at Dana White to give him a title shot.
At one stage, he was actually fond of Conor McGregor: Hard to believe it after all the 'Irish chicken' and 'Dana's son' jabs, but there's photographic evidence to prove it.
Family man: Khabib was married in June 2013, and has a daughter and a son. He actually missed the birth of his son to fight Barboza at UFC 209.
Headgear: The hat he wears and subsequently puts on Joe Rogan is called a papakha. Before you go making a tit of yourself, it's pronounced “puh-pah-hah”. The hat is native to his homeland of Dagestan. He wears it to pay respect to his Avar heritage. According to a fascinating
FightLand article, the hat was worn by the shepherds in the 'warrior, mountain clan.'
Famous Friends: Cristiano Ronaldo, Mike Tyson and NHL star Alexander Ovechkin are among the celebrity athletes he's rubbed shoulders with.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfCf9B1FQj8/?utm_source=ig_embed
Tony Ferguson
Nickname: 'El Cucuy' - This moniker comes from a mythical Mexican monster that is their equivalent to the Bogeyman.
Birthplace: California, USA.
https://twitter.com/TheNotoriousMMA/status/970507038316023808
Tale of the Tape
Age: 34. D.O.B. 20/2/1984
Height: 5'11"
Reach: 76 in
Leg reach: 40 in
The Dojo
Gym: He has a self-built training facility in Big Bear and also trains out of 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu under Eddie Bravo.
https://twitter.com/ufc/status/974016064408371200
Notable training partners: UFC middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum, UFC welterweight Alan Jouban, famously trained with former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar
Performances
Record: 23-3 MMA, 13-1 UFC
10 wins have come by way of knockout or TKO, he has eight submission victories and has five decision wins. He has one submission loss and two decision defeats.
Achievements: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Eddie Bravo.
Interim UFC lightweight champion, The Ultimate Fighter season 13 winner, Five UFC Performance bonuses, Three UFC Fight of the Night bonuses.
Former PureCombat welterweight champion.
NCWA National Champion (2006), NCWA All-American (2006, 2007), North Central Conference Champion (2006, 2007).
Records: His current 10-fight win streak is the longest in UFC lightweight history.
Biggest win: Rafael dos Anjos at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale. Strangely, Ferguson has a win over Barboza, against whom we reckon Nurmagomedov had his greatest victory. Likewise, Nurmagomedov destroyed dos Anjos. However, there are a number of factors why we believe Ferguson's win over RDA was his best performance.
Firstly, RDA had racked up an incredible streak after the Khabib loss. He won five-straight fights against the likes of Benson Henderson, Nate Diaz, Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone. The lightweight belt was wrapped around his waist after the Pettis win.
Although he lost the strap to Eddie Alvarez, RDA was still considered one of the division's elite when he fought Ferguson. 'El Cucuy' proved he had the mental fortitude, cardio and skill set to handle a championship-level fighter over five rounds. He took a comfortable decision victory with all three judges scoring the fight 48-47 in his favour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsMtpvI5p7c
Other notable wins: Edson Barboza, Kevin Lee, Gleison Tibau, Abel Trujillo, Josh Thomson, Lando Vannata, Ramsey Nijem.
Last defeat: Michael Johnson at UFC on Fox 3. This was the last time Ferguson tasted defeated before setting a divisional record of consecutive wins.
Johnson, who now competes at 145 lb, had the clear speed advantage. His lightning quick counters caught Ferguson off guard. He even managed to score a knockdown in the first round, although Ferguson didn't appear too hurt from the blow. All three judges awarded the fight 30-27 in Johnson's favour.
Oddities
The Ultimate Fighter: Although winning the reality show saw him gain some fandom, a lot of fans didn't like how Ferguson came across on screen.
The incident that's always brought up is when a casual wrestling session between Ferguson and Charlie Rader escalated. When the mood turned sour, Rader asked Ferguson 'Are you being serious? Are you good?' After a verbal-back-and-forth Tony aggressively asked, "Where's your kid at?" Rader was embroiled in a fierce custody battle for his then-five-year-old son at the time.
Ferguson explained to
SB Nation that alcohol had been consumed. He regretted bringing up Rader's son and admitted he didn't know why he did it. He guessed it might have had something to do with his own birth father not being around when he was growing up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P--twvzKPTs
He regularly scares Dana White: Almost every time 'El Cucuy' 'woo's at media appearances, the UFC president jumps a mile.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MueMERzGwDU
Natural athlete: He was a three-sport athlete in high school competing in
football, baseball and wrestling. He was the starting defensive back for the 2002 Michigan state football champions and was a three-time All-State selection in wrestling.
Although he didn't complete his degree at Muskegon Community College, he had success as a collegiate wrestler, winning the 2006 NCWA national wrestling championship in the 165 lbs division.
Family man: He is married and has a son Armand Anthony, who was born in 2016.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTc3OGbjgEA/?hl=en&taken-by=tonyfergusonxt
