"It's time to stop" - Khabib Nurmagomedov feels that it is time for arch-rival Tony Ferguson to retire
Khabib Nurmagomedov has suggested he thinks it’s time for his former rival Tony Ferguson to retire from mixed martial arts.
It’s safe to say that throughout the course of his 29-0 career, nobody was able to touch Khabib Nurmagomedov. The guy was so often in a league of his own and he was able to prove that time and time again, especially in the UFC.
Would Tony Ferguson have beaten Khabib Nurmagomedov?
Alas, one fight that we never got the chance to see despite it being booked five times was Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson.
The pair are widely considered to be the two best lightweights of their generation but for a multitude of reasons, they were never quite able to meet inside the octagon.
Now, in a recent press conference, Khabib Nurmagomedov has given his thoughts on Ferguson’s recent three-fight losing streak.
“He is 38. Tell me, how he can come back? He was dominated last three fights. Different styles, a striker, a grappler, Dariush, Oliveira, Gaethje, they all was dominating him. In stand up or on the ground. 38 years old I think it is time to stop. There should be people next to him that could say that he must stop because of the age. It is not an easy business. Especially when you are not a young man.”
Check out Khabib's comments in the video below:
It certainly feels as if the time has come and gone for these two men to fight and as Khabib Nurmagomedov suggests, the time for Tony Ferguson to compete at the highest level in the UFC may have also disappeared.
It’s an incredibly tough situation for any fighter to be in and that’s especially true for Tony Ferguson - a man who is unbelievably dedicated to his craft. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite click into place with respect to his showdown against Khabib - and he needs to be able to move forward from that.
Who knows, perhaps the pair could lock horns in some kind of grappling showdown in the near future once they’ve both been able to ride off into the MMA sunset.