UFC 249: Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz Pick Tony Ferguson Over Khabib Nurmagomedov

UFC Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz pick Tony Ferguson to win against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 249.

The UFC has been headstrong about their upcoming blockbuster event, UFC 249, despite the global crisis caused by coronavirus pandemic. While there are still now definite schedule and location, for the fight, some UFC legends have been asked to pick between the two headliners Nurmagedov and Ferguson.

In an interview with Elie Seckbach of EsNews, former UFC light heavyweight champion Liddell picked Ferguson over Nurmagomedov simply because he have seen “The Eagle” gas out during late rounds. Ferguson on the other hand, never gets tired for full 5 rounds.

“I’ve been saying it for a long time, I got Tony in this fight. You watch Khabib fight. (In the) last couple of tough fights where he went 3rd and 4th round, guys were able to land shots off of him. Tony, he’s got a gas tank that’s gonna free through. He can take 5 rounds. He’s not gonna get that tired down there,” Liddell predicted.

Liddell’s UFC nemesis Ortiz also had an interview with EsNews and surprisingly, he also thinks Ferguson has a “good chance” against the undefeated UFC champ.

“No one has a wrestler’s skills the way he (Nurmagomedov) has. His ground and pound, his wrestling skills, his takedowns, his striking into takedowns but Tony Ferguson has a good chance against him,” Ortiz said.

UFC president Dana White recently addressed the issue pertaining to the postponement of UFC 249. Nurmagomedov has just got stuck in Russia as all flights are cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Despite that, White is positive that UFC 249 “is going to go on and it will” no matter what.

“I woke up this morning and the whole world f---ing changed again. So back to the drawing board and we’re figuring this out right now as we’re speaking right now, I have people working on this thing as we speak. Listen, I am absolutely f---ing relentless and I said that this fight is going to go on and it will.” White told MMA Fighting.

UFC 249 was initially booked for Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but with restrictions on gatherings because of the coronavirus pandemic, the event has not had a home for the past few weeks. White said he continues to work on nailing down a location. However, the UFC boss does not plan on sharing that location with the MMA media.