Tony Ferguson is motivated with the recent talks on Khabib Nurmagomedov facing Conor McGregor in a rematch.
“The Notorious” from Ireland made a successful return to the cage last week after dismantling Donald Cerrone in their welterweight clash in Las Vegas.
It was McGregor first MMA win in three years, which made him the only fighter to score a knockout victory across three weight classes – a feat that he bragged in the media in the post-event wrap up.
After the win, the former two-division champ is being linked to a welterweight bout against Jorge Masvidal for the ‘baddest motherf***er’ and a title fight opposite Kamaru Usman.
But UFC president Dana White insisted that the next fight to make for McGregor is the rematch against the current lightweight champion.
McGregor first met Khabib in the main event of UFC 229, where he suffered a fourth-round submission loss.
The fight card, though, tallied the highest pay-per-view buys in the history with 2.6 million.
Motivated
The outspoken promotion chief assures the lightweight rematch would be as massive as the first fight, citing global appeal as the main factor.
With Khabib setting his sights on retirement in two years, White said it would be great for his legacy if he beats McGregor for the second time.
“We’re looking at Hagler-Hearns,” White told the media (via ESPN).
“We’re looking at like Ali-Foreman, Ali-Frazier. This is a massive fight with global appeal. It’s the fight you make, it’s the fight that makes sense. It’s for the 155-pound title.”
“If Conor and Masvidal fight, neither one of them even has a title. Although Conor does want his BMF title. He doesn’t have a world championship.”
“So Khabib is the fight to make. It’s huge for Khabib’s legacy, too. If he beat Conor McGregor, then he beats Tony Ferguson, then he beats Conor McGregor again, I mean this is how this kid, when he retires, he’s 30-something-and-oh and he’s beaten all of the best.”
But Ferguson wants to remind the UFC president and those who looks past on him that he remains the biggest thorn on booking the rematch.
‘El Cucuy’ posted a video on Instagram, saying he is motivated by the people sleeping on him.
Watch it below:
Biggest MMA Fight
Ferguson and Nurmagomedov will headline the UFC 249 fight card this April in what many consider as the biggest MMA fight in 2020.
Both lightweights are on a 12-fight winning streak, with Ferguson stopping Donald Cerrone last June while Khabib defeated Dustin Poirier in their unification bout.
The pair has been previously booked for four times but it never materialize because of health issues and injuries.
Will Tony Ferguson dethrone Khabib Nurmagomedov?
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Khabib and Conor McGregor and YouTube/ UFC)