The cursed fight – remembering all the times Khabib and Ferguson should have met

15 Apr 2020 03:28 pm, by YorkshireSquare


After all the umming and ahhing, it turns out that the global pandemic that is coronavirus has put paid to UFC 249. Fans were hoping to see Tony Ferguson finally take on Khabib Nurmagomedov, but he was stuck in quarantine in Russia. Khabib’s replacement was then set to be Justin Gaethje, before this latest postponement. It’s a famous rivalry between ‘El Cucuy’ and ‘The Eagle’ that many have described as cursed, with four previous bouts cancelled, due to injuries and other circumstances. And with this latest setback disappointing many MMA fans, who have been checking out the latest UFC odds, let’s take a look back at the previous four times they should have met.


December 2015: The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale
Khabib was on a UFC six-match winning streak and was set to take on Ferguson at the Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale, with the victor rumoured to take on then-champion Rafael dos Anjos for a shot at the title. Dos Anjos was Khabib’s last opponent in April 2014 and there were worries about his inactivity, due to injuries. Six weeks prior to this bout taking place, he had to pull out, citing a rib injury sustained in sparring. Ferguson went on to beat his substitute opponent, Edson Barboza by submission in the second round. This extended his winning run to seven fights – and he was also awarded both the Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night awards.


April 2016: UFC on Fox 19
After recovering from his rib injury, the original bout between Khabib and Ferguson was rescheduled. The Russian had been away from the Octagon for two years and the fight at UFC on Fox 19 was set to be the headliner, as a title eliminator. But 11 days before the event was to get underway, Ferguson this time had to pull out, due to a problem with his lung. Instead, the light heavyweight clash between Glover Teixeira and Rashad Evans was promoted to main event status. It was then revealed that Khabib would fight at catchweight level instead, and take on newcomer Darrell Horcher, who was making his UFC debut. The Eagle won by TKO in the second round to continue his unbeaten streak.


March 2017: UFC 209
Another headline fight was cancelled, this time at UFC 209. With Conor McGregor making his boxing debut against Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather, the vacant interim lightweight title was up for grabs. As anticipation was building, fans believed it would be third time lucky – but it wasn’t to be. This time, in the lead-up to fight week, the bout was cancelled, as Khabib was hospitalised. Battling to cutdown to the 11 stone weight limit, he didn’t make it to the weigh-in and the doctors refused to let the Russian fight, due to the chronic stomach pains. He later revealed: “The doctor say ‘you cannot fight. You almost die. How you fight? How you can fight if you almost die? ... No way. We say no fight, 100 percent. No make weight. No fight. No nothing. You need to stay in the hospital for seven hours, we have to make sure your body is good.’ But I feel I almost died.”


April 2018: UFC 223
A fourth fight was scheduled for the following year, and with McGregor set to lose his belt, interim champion Ferguson would finally take on Khabib – a long time coming. However, a freak accident saw the American pull out. During filming for a promotional shoot at Fox, Ferguson tripped on one of the cables and suffered a knee injury. He was later replaced by featherweight champion Max Holloway – but he too had to pull out, as doctors deemed him unfit to fight, due to extreme weight cutting. Al Iaquinta was drafted in and at the third attempt, the bout went ahead – although Iaquinta wasn’t eligible to win the title as he was over the weight limit. This didn’t matter as Khabib was victorious, dominating the fight and winning by unanimous decision.