‘Shut up’ – Tony Ferguson sides with Conor McGregor over latest Khabib Nurmagomedov feud
Tony Ferguson has waded in on Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagedov’s latest feud. Khabib re-ignited his fierce rivalry with McGregor by directing some harsh comments at the state of Irish MMA while previewing an upcoming Bellator fight, branded ‘Khabib vs McGregor II’ by fans. Khabib has torn into Irish MMAGETTY The fight in question is between Khabib’s cousin and student, Usman Nurmagomedov of Dagestan and Ireland’s Paul Hughes, who are set to square off for the Bellator lightweight title on January 25 in Dubai. Given both athletes’ places of birth and Khabib’s involvement in the clash, there have been a lot of similarities drawn between Nurmagemdov vs Hughes, and Khabib and McGregor’s blockbuster showdown at UFC 229 six years ago. The resemblance between both fights may be uncanny but Khabib insists there is no comparison when it comes to the two regions’ overall MMA prowess. Speaking to PFL, who acquired Bellator in 2023, Khabib said: “Ireland don’t have fighters, brother. “Let’s be honest. How many fighters do you know from Ireland? Paul Hughes and Conor. And who else?” ‘The Eagle’ then doubled down on social media when he received backlash from fans. “You can say whatever you want, but if we’re talking about facts, you can’t compare Irish fighters with fighters from Dagestan,” Nurmagomedov tweeted on Friday. “We dominate amateur MMA, and it’s not even close—not just compared to Irish fighters but the whole world. “I’m absolutely confident that if we were to organize a team vs. team matchup, Dagestan would defeat a world team in amateur MMA. “And when it comes to professional MMA, we have champions, contenders, and ranked fighters in every major league. PFLKhabib will be in Usman’s corner for his fight with Hughes[/caption] “Show me Irish fighters who are currently title contenders in the top 3 MMA promotions. At best, you might be able to name 1 or 2 fighters. The facts speak for themselves.” McGregor is yet to respond to Khabib’s comments at the time of writing but Ferguson, who was the consensus No.3 in the lightweight division when both men were at the peak of their powers has weighed in on the debate. “Shut Up Fathead,” he tweeted. “Eure Still My B***. “You fought 2 round ‘pro’ padded fights leading up to the UFC. “Easy to talk when you’re not competing ya Eunic. Once a coward always a coward.” Despite compiling a legendary 12-fight winning streak during his prime, Ferguson never fought Khabib or McGregor. Khabib vs Ferguson is the biggest UFC fight to never happenGetty Images - Getty The former interim UFC lightweight champion was matched up with Khabib a remarkable five times to no avail. Their toll stands at two pullouts a piece due to injury while their fifth and final attempt at UFC 249 in 2020 was derailed by Russia closing its borders to stem the outbreak of COVID-19.
Tony Ferguson has waded in on Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagedov’s latest feud.
Khabib re-ignited his fierce rivalry with McGregor by directing some harsh comments at the state of Irish MMA while previewing an upcoming Bellator fight, branded ‘Khabib vs McGregor II’ by fans.
The fight in question is between Khabib’s cousin and student, Usman Nurmagomedov of Dagestan and Ireland’s Paul Hughes, who are set to square off for the Bellator lightweight title on January 25 in Dubai.
Given both athletes’ places of birth and Khabib’s involvement in the clash, there have been a lot of similarities drawn between Nurmagemdov vs Hughes, and Khabib and McGregor’s blockbuster showdown at UFC 229 six years ago.
The resemblance between both fights may be uncanny but Khabib insists there is no comparison when it comes to the two regions’ overall MMA prowess.
Speaking to PFL, who acquired Bellator in 2023, Khabib said: “Ireland don’t have fighters, brother.
“Let’s be honest. How many fighters do you know from Ireland? Paul Hughes and Conor. And who else?”
‘The Eagle’ then doubled down on social media when he received backlash from fans.
“You can say whatever you want, but if we’re talking about facts, you can’t compare Irish fighters with fighters from Dagestan,” Nurmagomedov tweeted on Friday.
“We dominate amateur MMA, and it’s not even close—not just compared to Irish fighters but the whole world.
“I’m absolutely confident that if we were to organize a team vs. team matchup, Dagestan would defeat a world team in amateur MMA.
“And when it comes to professional MMA, we have champions, contenders, and ranked fighters in every major league.
“Show me Irish fighters who are currently title contenders in the top 3 MMA promotions. At best, you might be able to name 1 or 2 fighters. The facts speak for themselves.”
McGregor is yet to respond to Khabib’s comments at the time of writing but Ferguson, who was the consensus No.3 in the lightweight division when both men were at the peak of their powers has weighed in on the debate.
“Shut Up Fathead,” he tweeted. “Eure Still My B***.
“You fought 2 round ‘pro’ padded fights leading up to the UFC.
“Easy to talk when you’re not competing ya Eunic. Once a coward always a coward.”
Despite compiling a legendary 12-fight winning streak during his prime, Ferguson never fought Khabib or McGregor.
The former interim UFC lightweight champion was matched up with Khabib a remarkable five times to no avail.
Their toll stands at two pullouts a piece due to injury while their fifth and final attempt at UFC 249 in 2020 was derailed by Russia closing its borders to stem the outbreak of COVID-19.
