Khabib Nurmagomedov (L) faces off against Tony Ferguson (R) during a press conference (Digital Trends)
Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov have been scheduled to fight four times in the past
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson is scheduled to be held on 18 April 2020 at UFC 249.
The fight was made a while back, and is one of the biggest in the history of the UFC. Khabib and Ferguson are both on great winning runs, but there is a fear that the match is cursed.
The pair have been scheduled to meet four times prior to this, but something or another has happened.
Khabib and Ferguson have picked up crazy injuries on the eve of some fights. The pair had even given interviews ahead of the fight and just a few days later, something weird would take place.
April 2020 could still be in doubt, but here is a timeline of when the two UFC Lightweight stars were supposed to meet in the past:
The Khabib vs Ferguson timeline
Their first meeting was to take place on the finale of the Ultimate Fighter 22. However, Khabib pulled out after picking up an injury. The Russian had a knee problem on the eve of facing Donald Cerrone at UFC 187 but had to pull out of that before this clash.
Ferguson, for his part, wasn’t pleased with this move and had a slight go at Khabib:
“I’ve had hurt ribs and I’ve had broken arms in fights and still kicked ass and came out victorious. These dudes are using excuses, man,” said Ferguson after the cancellation.
The second meeting was set for 2016 and this was a title eliminator between Khabib and Ferguson.
However, Just with 11 days prior to the fight, Ferguson pulled out of the clash because of a freak lung injury.
Khabib got a replacement and took on Darrell Horcher, and the Russian picked up another easy win to continue his unbeaten streak in the UFC.
The third time the pair were scheduled to meet was at UFC 209. This was a big deal as the stars had the chance to pick up the interim Lightweight title.
However, the curse seemed to have struck again. The Russian fell ill after struggling with a weight cut, and the fight was cancelled.
Khabib had to be hospitalised after failing to make the cut, but there was more craziness to come regarding his rivalry with Ferguson.
UFC 223 was the fought time Khabib vs Ferguson was set up, however, this one had the most craziest reason to cancel the fight.
This was also for the UFC Lightweight title and fans would have expected a huge clash between them.
However, it was Ferguson who had to pull out of the fight. The American injured his knee due to a freak accident as he tripped over some wires.
The fifth meeting is on 18 April but the coronavirus pandemic might play a role in it taking place.
Dana White has been consistently saying that the fight will go ahead, despite most sporting events being closed around the world.
The UFC president also has a new location in mind but hasn’t opened up about it. The latest updates suggest that the match might be off due to Khabib being stuck in Russia.
White is still confident of holding the fight, but the coronavirus pandemic might just put the fifth meeting on the backburner.
Khabib and Ferguson is a rivalry that every UFC fan wants to see. However, it will be interesting to see whether the match does take place or the curse strikes again.
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