Tony Ferguson has urged his lightweight rivals to retire from fighting.
The number one lightweight contender is looking to sustain his streak of wins at UFC 249 this weekend as he will headline the pay-per-view event opposite Justin Gaethje, with the interim lightweight title up for grabs after the defending champion Khabib Nurmagomedov withdrew from the card due to travel restrictions.
It was the fifth time the Ferguson vs Khabib was scrapped and the American fighter has made it clear he doesn’t want to hear any talk about their matchup.
Asked if he wants the promotion to rebook the ‘most anticipated fight in the UFC history’, Ferguson said: “I’m not going to answer that f*cking question. We’re worrying about UFC 249. The fight’s with Justin Gaethje.”
Real Men
While the interim title is on the line at the UFC 249 main event, Ferguson believes it will determine the best 155-pounder in the world before suggesting Khabib and McGregor should hang up their four-ounce gloves.
“F*ck Khabib. I’m going to be real. I want to say f*ck Khabib. I’m defending my belt for the third time,” he continued.
“This is for the real belt. This is not for an interim title. This is for the real championship sh*t. It’s champ sh*t only, buddy.”
“That dude’s a b*tch. I’m going to be real. Him and McNuggets (Conor McGregor). They both need to f*cking retire. The only two real men out there are going to be me and Justin Gaethje. American motherf*ckers.”
Well-Prepared
Known for his unconventional training methods, Ferguson is set to go into the interim title fight will all guns blazing, following a six-month preparation that included a 12-hour practice everyday.
“I’ve been training for f*cking six to seven months. As soon as we found out we were going to fight Khabib, I was already training in December. Obviously, conditioning’s there, strength’s there, my body’s completely changed.”
“I didn’t have a strength and conditioning coach besides myself and I actually had my trainers put me through the ringer for every single practice. I mean 12 hour days, I mean seriously, man, it wasn’t easy.”
“But I made it happen. I’m very lucky to be able to have a f*cking team, one of the best teams that’s out there in the whole entire world, and I’m ready for f*cking anything.”
“I went on The Ultimate Fighter and I won that b*tch at 170 pounds and it was a tournament. So it doesn’t matter who you put in front of me.”
“I’m going to go out there and give my best. Win or lose, I’m going to walk away a f*cking winner,” Ferguson ended.
(Featured Image Source: Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor/ Instagram, UFC/ YouTube)