[autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] Do you think it is an appropriate time to [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] retire after your UFC on ABC 7 loss.
Nurmagomedov was at Saturday’s event at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi to corner his cousin Umar in the main fight. He was backstage when his longtime rival Ferguson (25-11 MMA, 15-9 UFC), whom he was scheduled to fight five times during his career, suffered a first-round submission defeat against Michael Chiesa, setting the record for greatest number of consecutive octagons. defeats at eight.
There have been several instances where Nurmagomedov has urged Ferguson to retire. That appears to be closer to reality than ever before, but it remains to be seen after Ferguson was non-committal following his defeat.
However, Nurmagomedov is on the side of “El Cucuy”’s retirement and provided an uplifting message to a man he spent many years of his career feuding with.
“It’s not a surprise to me because he’s 40,” said Nurmagomedov UFC Europe. “I just want to wish him all the best. He’s truly one of the best to ever do it in the UFC. I just want to wish him all the best. His life is just beginning because he’s only 40 years old. He just finished career in MMA. Now it will be a different life. A much better life.”
Nurmagomedov and Ferguson never had the opportunity to share the Octagon. A series of unfortunate and unpredictable events led to a record number of fight cancellations between them, and while Nurmagomedov would have liked it to happen when they were at the height of their powers, he said it simply wasn’t meant to be.
“In my heyday and his heyday, it was supposed to be a very interesting fight,” Nurmagomedov said. “But what can I say? He got hurt a few times, I got hurt a few times. It is what it is, you know? Sometimes we have our plans, but God has his plans. We can’t control that.”
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This article was originally published on MMA Junkie: Khabib Nurmagomedov sends uplifting message to Tony Ferguson after potential retirement fight at UFC on ABC 7
