UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov thinks Tony Ferguson’s main motivation to keep fighting is money.
Nurmagomedov’s old rival, Ferguson (25-8 MMA, 15-6 UFC), is enduring a rough patch having lost his past five fights in a row. At one point, former interim champ Ferguson was on a 12-fight winning streak and dubbed as the former UFC lightweight champion’s biggest threat.
Nurmagomedov and Ferguson were booked to fight each other five times, but they never got to settle their beef as all five fights were canceled. Nurmagomedov has since retired, and Ferguson is no longer a top contender, but he’s still eager to compete.
Nurmagomedov isn’t so sure that’s a wise move.
“His time is up, and there’s no way to get it back,” Nurmagomedov said in an interview with UFC Russia. “Not Khabib, not Tony, nobody. We had our time, and it passed. He continues to fight. He needs money. You have to pay your bills in the U.S., and I’m sure that since he’s a Californian, I know all the Californian fighters – everything he earned, take half of that. I think he keeps fighting for money to pay bills, taxes. He has a family, I think he has two kids. I don’t blame him, but you can’t get back time. When your time goes away it doesn’t ask your name.”
A top lightweight contender throughout the majority of his UFC career, Ferguson will look to compete at 170 pounds moving forward. He won Season 13 of “The Ultimate Fighter” as a welterweight but was unsuccessful in his move back up when he was submitted by Nate Diaz at UFC 279 in September.
The loss marked his fifth straight, but Ferguson has no intentions of hanging his gloves up.
Khabib Nurmagomedov: Tony Ferguson’s ‘time is up,’ only fighting because ‘he needs money’
