Khabib Nurmagomedov responds to Tony Ferguson with a hard-hitting reality check

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson face off [Credits: @ufc via Twitter]

Khabib Nurmagomedov recently responded to Tony Ferguson's tweet aimed at him for introducing a 165lbs weight class in his promotion, Eagle FC.

Nurmagomedov subtly replied to Ferguson's tweet with a date: June 8, 2019. The date signifies the day Tony Ferguson secured his last victory inside the octagon against Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone.

Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov's response below:

@TonyFergusonXT June 8, 2019

Tony Ferguson also responded to Khabib Nurmagomedov's tweet, hinting that it was the Russian who pulled out on two occasions. Ferguson's tweet refers to the time when the Dagestani sambo specialist missed weight at UFC 209 and was hospitalized due to complications with his weight cut.

He said:

"@TeamKhabib UFC 209 Balmed It On The Cake, Felt Fear For His Life. UFC 249 Ran To Momma #towelgate -CSO-"

@TeamKhabib UFC 209 Blamed It On The Cake, Felt Fear For His Life. UFC 249 Ran To Momma #towelgate 🖕😎 -CSO- 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 https://t.co/k5vx4JLGWo

The two fighters have a long-standing history with one another as they were scheduled to face each other five times. However, due to bizarre and unforeseen circumstances, the long-time rivals never stepped inside the octagon against each other.

The constant pull-outs and cancelations led the MMA community to label the fight between Ferguson and Nurmagomedov as cursed.

Khabib Nurmagomedov issues statement on Tony Ferguson withdrawal: ‘Don’t talk too much anymore’ mmafighting.com/2018/4/1/17186… https://t.co/6197xlGmN9

While Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from professional mixed martial arts in 2020, Tony Ferguson is still active in the UFC. 'El Cucuy' has lost his last three fights and is yet to win a contest since beating Donald Cerrone back in 2019.

Ferguson's latest defeat came against Beneil Dariush at UFC 262. The 37-year-old had a rough outing against the Iranian native, losing the bout via unanimous decision.

White says Ferguson vs Khabib ‘just wasn’t meant to be’ bloodyelbow.com/2020/12/14/221…

Khabib Nurmagomedov predicted Tony Ferguson's downfall

Khabib Nurmagomedov is widely known for his viciousness inside the octagon and humble persona outside of it. Being one of the greatest fighters to have ever graced the octagon, 'The Eagle' has proven to be a global icon, preaching humility whenever possible.

Along with his kindness, he's also known for his keen observations. A great example of the same is when the Russian predicted Tony Ferguson's career trajectory when 'El Cucuy' suffered a TKO loss after taking a vicious beating against Justin Gaethje.

In an interview with Brett Okamoto, Khabib Nurmagomedov said:

"Honestly, I feel a little bit bad. But at the same time I understand. Nobody can be same [for a] long time. Nobody. No Tony Ferguson, no Khabib, nobody...one day [your] level is gonna go down. And his [Ferguson's] day [came]. It was in May and I understand, Tony Ferguson's time is finished. Now, if he comes back, someone's gonna beat him again..."

“when you take damage like this you’ll never be the same, even if you’re Tony Ferguson” - Khabib predicting Tony’s downfall after his loss to gaethje #UFC256 https://t.co/PlThzbdCno

Unfortunately for Tony Ferguson, Khabib Nurmagomedeov's prediction turned out to be flawlessly accurate. 'El Cucuy' has suffered two back-to-back defeats ever since his loss to Gaethje at UFC 249.