UFC's New Rivalry? Khabib Fighting Style Labeled 'Lazy' By Ferguson Amid Praise

Khabib Nurmagomedov received high praise from the Ultimate fighting Championship (UFC) community after his win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 242. The reigning undefeated lightweight champion unified the division titles after beating the now interim UFC lightweight champion.

The Russian continued his unbeaten streak with a third round submission win over Poirier. However, fellow lightweight contender Tony Ferguson was not impressed with “The Eagle” and indicated that he does not profess to the fighting style used by the Dagestani grappler.

Ferguson, who is also on an unbeaten 12-match streak, labeled Nurmagomedov’s fighting style as “Lazy and one dimensional” during an interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. It could be the start of a new rivalry in the lightweight division.

“Lazy, one-dimensional,” Ferguson told Ariel Helwani for ESPN. “When I see someone pushing against the cage and not really doing much, just kind of putting themselves as a wet blanket. When I fought Danny Castillo, he did the same kind of thing. It’s interesting how Khabib fights but to me it’s just boring. It’s lazy.”

“El Cucuy” has been pegged as the next opponent for Nurmagomedov after he dismissed Poirier in Abu Dhabi recently. Dana White has named him the next challenger, that is if Ferguson accepts the fight and his recent comments are certain to rile up the Russian lightweight champion.

“Yeah, he’s next. Tony Ferguson is next in line for the fight if he accepts the fight. We’ll see how this thing plays out when Khabib will fight again and if Tony wants the fight,” White said, as quoted on MMA Fighting.

However, if Ferguson decides against taking up his title shot against Nurmagomedov, the Russian has a ready opponent in Conor McGregor. The Irishman has been pining for a rematch against the Russian, who beat him via submission during their encounter last October.

White, the UFC president, has confirmed that McGregor could be given yet another title shot if Ferguson refuses the fight with Nurmagomedov. Even though there could be more deserving candidates, fans are certain to want to see a rematch between “The Eagle” and “The Notorious” sooner rather than later.

“Tony Ferguson gets the next shot and obviously if for whatever reason Tony can’t take the fight or doesn’t want the fight at that time then we would figure out what was next but Conor would make a lot of sense. Conor McGregor wants that fight really badly and I’m sure the fans would want to see it. So we’ll see how this whole thing plays out,” White added.