The Fight That Never Happened
Tony “EL CUCUY” Ferguson vs. Khabib “THE EAGLE” Nurmagomedov, a fight that was booked on five different occasions but never came to fruition. What could have been the biggest fight in UFC history has become something of the past. Khabib who is now retired with a perfect record of 29-0, successfully defended the lightweight belt against the likes of Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Connor McGregor, the announcement of his retirement came at no surprise as he had spoken about promising his mother his last fight against Gaethje was his last, not having has father in his corner was rough on him and his mother. His fathers hope was having his son go 30-0 and is last fight being against Georges St-Pierre.
December 11, 2015 The Ultimate Fighter 22 was the first attempt at Tony vs Khabib. A little over a month before the fight Nurmagomedov was forced out the fight due to an injury and was replaced by Edson Barboza.
April 16, 2016 UFC in Tampa on FOX was their next opportunity, but this time around it was Ferguson who needed to pull out 11 days prior to the bout due to lung issues.
March 4, 2017 UFC 209 as the co headliner for the UFC Interim lightweight championship. After the two coming off victories over the likes of Rafael Dos Anjos and Michael Johnson it was time to take another crack at this fight. The day before the event Nurmagomedov was forced out the fight after falling ill and being rushed to the hospital after a botched weight cut. Tony went on to defeat Kevin Lee and win the interim lightweight championship.
April 7, 2018 Tony is still the interim champion and the plan is too name the winner the unified champion after inactivity from the champion Connor McGregor. This time a freaky accident during the media obligation causes the fight to fall apart, as Tony is forced out 6 days before the fight. The UFC once again has to scramble to find a last minute opponent for Nurmagomedov. What seemed to be the craziest week for the UFC with McGregor bus attack to Max Holloway not being allowed to step into face Nurmagomedov, they eventually find an opponent. Khabib goes onto defeat Al Iaquinta to become the new 155 pound champion.
The last attempt at making this fight is announced on November 25, 2019 to take place on April 18, 2020 at the Barclays Center. Covid eventually hits and everything worldwide is shut down. Dana White scrambles to find venues and locations to make this and many other fights possible. On March 30th through a live chat on Instagram, Nurmagomedov announces he’s returned back home to Dagestan, Russia and is now unable to leave the country due to the Covid Pandemic shutting down international flights. On April 1st Nurmagomedov announces the fight is off through an Instagram post. Tony went on to lose a fight against Justin Gaethje later that year and since has also lost to Charles Oliveira.
There is still hope in this fight potentially happening, CUCUY has a fight coming up against Beneil Dariush at UFC 262, and an impressive victory can line him up against Nurmagomedov’s cousin Islam Makhachev. In Islam’s last fight he did say a dream fight of his would be against Tony, so it only makes sense to make this fight with a Tony victory over Dariush. This could be the closest we get to Khabib vs Tony or it could spark the fire to getting the actual fight. Khabib will more than likely will corner Islam in this potential fight, and if Tony can manage to find a way to dominate Islam in front of Khabib it could motivate him to come out of retirement to avenge his cousin. So maybe the sixth attempt could possibly be the lucky one, all the right pieces have to fall in this dream scenario. Fans will always speak of what if, if this fight never happens.
