We’re supposed to be less than two weeks away from arguably the biggest fight in UFC history, but somehow the fifth time wasn’t the charm.
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will not fight once again after being booked against each other, and this time it wasn’t either fighter’s fault. The coronavirus pandemic has put the whole world on hold, yet we were grasping at the idea of the UFC still trying to make Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson happen.
Nurmagomedov flew back to Dagestan last month after California, where his training camp was based at American Kickboxing Academy, issued a stay-at-home order to help curtail the spread of COVID-19. Nurmagomedov at the time was under the impression that UFC 249 would take place in Abu Dhabi, and now he’s stuck in Russia because of a travel ban.
Ferguson’s frustration last week was understandable. But Nurmagomedov ducking him? That’s nonsense.
So now we get Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title, which was announced Monday as the new UFC 249 headliner at a location still to be determined. It’s the best possible replacement anyone could imagine. The matchup could end up delivering more than Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov would, but the history, the statistics, the legacy all make Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson absolutely the fight to make.
We’ve waited five years, so why couldn’t we wait a few more months?
Gaethje is enjoying his best run to date. He has recently tamed his overly aggressive and brawling style, delivering three straight first-round finishes. He is a very dangerous and worthy opponent, which is precisely the problem. We couldn’t get Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson for five years, so if Gaethje beats Ferguson, we probably never will. At least not with the stakes so high.
The fight has been brewing for years, but the matchup never has been bigger, with both men on remarkable winning streaks in the UFC and no man able to stop the undefeated Nurmagomedov.
We are currently in a global pandemic, meaning fighters are not only potentially risking their health and safety, but with non-essential gym business shut down, they haven’t had the proper preparation to compete. For Gaethje, he certainly has nothing to lose and everything to gain with an opportunity like this, but Ferguson is about to risk it all.
Kudos to him and his willingness to fight, but with no location even determined for the fight yet, we might as well have waited for the dust to settle. If Ferguson pulls this off, somehow the Nurmagomedov fight just got even bigger.
We can only hope.
Potentially losing Khabib vs. Ferguson forever just isn't worth the risk | Opinion
