It may seem pointless for Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov to sell their fight for the UFC 249 title, but the two men certainly raised the stakes at their press conference.
Despite the four-way fight, two of the greatest lightweights of all time have yet to meet inside the octagon to determine who is the best of that era.
Six weeks before their scheduled meeting on April 18 in Brooklyn, the duo met at a press conference in Las Vegas before UFC 248 to promote their fight.
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Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov clashed at press conference in Las Vegas
After exchanging several verbal barbels for about half an hour, the two men clashed face to face.
Ferguson, who formerly held the working title of 155 pounds, brought his old belt and dropped it at the Russian’s feet and asked him to do the same as Dana White struggled to separate them.
But “The Eagle” showed how little respect he had for Ferguson’s belt and threw it off the stage as he held his new undisputed title.
Tensions between the two men simmered as Nurmagomedov repeatedly called his 36-year-old opponent “old man” and promised to beat him in a street fight.
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The Russian had no respect for the old Ferguson belt
And ‘El Cucuy’ got his by saying to Khabib: “You’re f ****** fat! You’re about the same size as [Daniel] Cormier right now. “
Although the Russian is clearly not as round as his American Kickboxing Academy teammate, weight reduction issues have already plagued him and led to the cancellation of one of the four fights proposed with Ferguson.
The winner of this fight will not only be declared the undisputed king of lightweights, but will surely have the chance to fight Conor McGregor and earn a lucrative salary.
