Tony Ferguson to Khabib after father’s death: ‘He will be front row’ when we hopefully fight

Tony Ferguson to Khabib after father’s death: ‘He will be front row’ when we hopefully fight

Tony Ferguson has his differences with Khabib Nurmagomedov, but those were put aside for a show of respect after the death of the UFC lightweight champion’s father on Friday.

Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who’s also coached Khabib since he was a child, died from complications related to COVID-19 after weeks of being ill. He was 57.

While Ferguson and Khabib have exchanged some heated words through the years, that didn’t stop Ferguson from offering his “sincerest condolences” to his chief rival on Twitter.

My Sincerest Condolences To You & Your Family @TeamKhabib Keep Your Spirits Up Buddy Respect To Your Father AbdulmanapNurmagomedov He Will Be Front Row When We Hopefully Compete Someday

In April, Nurmagomedov initially was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia symptoms and was subsequently transferred to a military hospital after his condition deteriorated. While there, he tested positive for COVID-19 and later suffered a heart attack before undergoing emergency bypass surgery. During his time in the hospital he was twice placed into a medically induced coma as he attempted to recover from surgery while also fighting the novel coronavirus.

Ferguson and Khabib have a long history of almost fighting. On five separate occasions they’ve been booked against each other, but the bout has fallen off each time. Most recently, they were set to fight April 18 at UFC 249, but Khabib was forced out because of travel restrictions in his native Dagestan due to the global coronavirus outbreak.

Ferguson went on to meet Justin Gaethje at a rescheduled UFC 249 on May 9 in Jacksonville, Fla., where he lost their interim title fight by fifth-round TKO.