Ferguson fight off, says Nurmagomedov
DAGESTAN: UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov says his fight against American Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 is off as he is in quarantine in Russia amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Dagestan native Nurmagomedov was scheduled to face Ferguson on April 18 at the Barclays Center in New York but the venue had already been ruled out because of the virus outbreak.
Nurmagomedov said on his Instagram page that “the whole world should be in quarantine”.
“Governments of all countries, famous people around the world urge people to follow all safety requirements ... and Khabib is the only one relieved of all obligations and must demonstrate free will and train flying around the world, for the sake of fight?
“I understand everything and I’m definitely more upset than you to cancel the fight. Probably like all others, I had many plans after the fight, but I can’t control it all.”
Nurmagomedov and Ferguson had previously been booked to fight on four occasions but each bout was cancelled because of health or fitness issues.
Ferguson said Nurmagomedov was “scared” and should be stripped of his title.
“He was in Abu Dhabi, he had his chance to be able to come back before the borders were closed in Russia,” Ferguson told ESPN.
“He decided to go back to Dagestan, did not finish his camp.
“The guy does not want to fight. He’s scared, he’s running. He should be stripped of his title.”
The UFC has said it was keen to host the event at a new location on the same date and Ferguson confirmed he would stay on the card.
“It doesn’t matter who we have. We’re gonna try to make this thing go,” Ferguson added. “At least some of the people in the world have a little bit of hope.”
There was a slim hope of the fight alive on Wednesday as Nurmagomedov would be able to move out of Russia because private flights are allowed between Russia and US after obtaining a permission. But Nurmagomedov dashed that hopes by his announcement on instagram on the same day.
Nurmagomedov, who boasts a 28-0 record, last fought in September, when he successfully defended his lightweight crown by defeating Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi - taking his win streak in UFC to 12-0.
Ferguson, meanwhile, is also enjoying a 12-fight unbeaten run stretching back to 2012. His most recent victory came last June against Donald Corrine. Now the No 1-ranked challenger, Ferguson holds a 25-3-0 record.
UFC president Dana White has been adamant Nurmagomedov-ferguson fight would take place as Combat sports are among the most elemental competitive events, with just two fighters and a referee in a cage or ring surrounded by three judges and relatively few vital support personnel. That’s a big reason why the UFC believes it can continue while the rest of the sporting world grinds to a halt.
White has been adamant NurmagomedovFerguson would take place, with the UFC president is pondering over venues outside the US
The UFC staged a full fight card in an empty arena on March 15 night in Brazil’s capital city Brasilia, sticking to its plan to keep fighting in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
Charles Oliveira stopped lightweight Kevin Lee with a guillotine choke in the third round of the main event in the UFC’S first show since many other sports organizations around the world postponed and canceled competitions.
The world’s biggest mixed martial arts promotion held 12 bouts in Brasilia with only the fighters, their camps, the television production crew and a few dozen essential personnel inside Nilson Nelson Gymnasium.