"This is the real championship fight", says Tony Ferguson on headlining UFC 249 with Justin Gaethje
As Tony Ferguson heads towards his second interim lightweight title fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 on May 9, he has completely zoned out of the jinxed fight against reigning champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. If Ferguson beats Gaethje on Saturday, he will be scheduled to challenge the undefeated Russian for the sixth time.
UFC 249 headliner is the real deal, says Ferguson
Ferguson understandably has unpleasant memories related to the recently canceled fight with Khabib and he doesn't want to think about the situation before a very important and difficult fight on Saturday. Speaking to MMA Fighting, Ferguson revealed that Gaethje currently has his undivided attention.
“I’m not going to answer that f***ing question. We’re worrying about UFC 249. The fight’s with Justin Gaethje.”
Ferguson and Nurmagomedov share a heated rivalry and the fact that the fight never came to fruition despite being booked five times only adds to it. Despite Dana White announcing that the winner of the UFC 249 main event will go onto challenge Nurmagomedov in a title unification bout later this year, Ferguson doesn't want to hear Khabib's name at the moment.
“I’m going to be real. I want to say f**k Khabib. I’m defending my belt for the third time. This is for the real belt. This is not for an interim title. This is for the real championship s**t. It’s champ s**t only, buddy. The only two real men out there are going to be me and Justin Gaethje.”