Brian Ortega: If anyone beats Khabib Nurmagomedov, it’ll be Tony Ferguson

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Brian Ortega: If anyone beats Khabib Nurmagomedov, it’ll be Tony Ferguson

Naturally, Brian Ortega thinks it’s going to take a jiu-jitsu practitioner to dethrone lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Speaking to “Kumite TV” during his press tour in South Korea for his upcoming headliner vs. Chan Sung Jung at UFC on ESPN+ 23, Ortega said the only person he sees beating Nurmagomedov is former interim lightweight champ and jiu-jitsu black belt Tony Ferguson.

And if Ferguson can’t get the job done, then he believes he can be the one to do it.

“Tony is an amazing athlete – (and) he’s a great jiu-jitsu guard player as well,” Ortega said. “But when I see things, there’s just certain positions that I feel like I’m better at than certain people, and vice-versa, they’re better than me in certain positions. But the positions that Khabib is amazing at, I’m equally as amazing from the bottom of the coin. I feel like if anyone’s going to beat him, it’s Ferguson. And if not, we’re going to have to wait until I come up.”

Nurmagomedov, who’s been near flawless in all his UFC victories so far, had a brief scare in most recent outing at UFC 242 when Dustin Poirier wrapped up his neck and latched onto a guillotine choke, a move Ortega is very familiar with.

“T-City” certainly thinks had it been him who caught Nurmagomedov in that guillotine, “The Eagle” would have suffered his first career loss.

“I feel like anyone who I wrap up is in danger, and the level of danger is extreme,” Ortega said. “I’ve been doing this for over 15 years, and I’ve been going with the top-level grapplers in the entire world and finishing them, and catching them. So this is something that’s in the future, for sure.”

Although it’s going to take at least a couple more fights for Ortega to reach that goal, he wants to earn it, and it starts with the “Korean Zombie” on Dec. 21.

“Hopefully Khabib doesn’t retire,” Ortega said. “Give me some time to go in there and let me do what I have to do and prove myself the way he proved himself. Let me become a champ. Then I feel like I have the right to really call him out and have it be a lot more serious than just saying his name in interviews.”

Brian Ortega: If anyone beats Khabib Nurmagomedov, it'll be Tony Ferguson