Eddie Bravo: Tony Ferguson multitude of weapons will be problem for Khabib at UFC 249

We’re still eight weeks out, and history has told us we should temper any excitement for Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson.

But with two months to go, Ferguson’s jiu-jitsu coach, grappling wizard Eddie Bravo of 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu, might have some people raising their eyebrows over the prospect of a Ferguson upset win to take the UFC’s lightweight title in April.

Champ Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) puts his belt on the line against Ferguson (25-3 MMA, 15-1 UFC) in the UFC 249 main event on April 18 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. It’s one of the most highly anticipated fights in MMA history in large part because it has been booked four other times before. Each fighter has had to pull out twice each, and now everyone seems to be hoping the fifth time’s the charm.

On “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, Bravo said he’s been working with Ferguson on the puzzle that is Nurmagomedov for a bit.

“We’ve been preparing for Khabib for a long time,” Bravo said on the show. “… We’re always preparing for the worst-case scenario, and Khabib is the worst-case scenario. He’s probably the best ground-and-pounder wrestler ever. This is the toughest challenge ever in MMA for 10th Planet.”

But while acknowledging Nurmagomedov, who nearly is a 3-1 favorite in the fight, is dangerous, Bravo also seems to also think the champ has moments he seems less superhuman – and those might be the times Ferguson can exploit some opening.

“The thing with Khabib, Khabib is undefeated – no doubt one of the best fighters of all time,” Bravo said. “But you’ve got to remember this, too: There are a couple of Khabib fights – we’ve watched all the Khabib fights – where you don’t see the classic Khabib. Like Gleison Tibau – that didn’t go down like (people expected). There are some fights Khabib (looks human).

“You can also look at the (Rafael) dos Anjos fight – there are things he couldn’t do that he could do with other people. He couldn’t get past dos Anjos’ guard. (He) wasn’t that easy to take down.”

And though Nurmagomedov’s mauling style, especially when the fight hits the canvas, is among the best in the world, Bravo was quick to point out that Ferguson’s wrestling may be at a level the champion isn’t used to – especially if people want to compare it to what Conor McGregor brought to the table when they fought in October 2018.

“Tony wrestled his whole (expletive) life,” Bravo said. “There’s a light year difference between Conor’s wrestling and Tony’s wrestling, so you’ve got that. Tony will throw D’Arce (chokes) standing and from all different angles, and while you’re trying to take him down. So Khabib’s got to worry about that.

“Khabib has my respect a million percent – that guy’s insane. But Tony has so many (expletive) weapons. He might have more weapons than anyone in the history of the UFC.”