Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov was probably one of the most regrettable battles, which was skipped five times before and after and ultimately failed.
The Night Devil plans to return to the sub-middleweights at UFC 279, speaking of his long-running engagement with Kabib, who announced his retirement in 2020 with a 29-win unbeaten run after three consecutive defending lightweight titles.
Although Kitty has repeatedly said that his professional MMA career is over, Ferguson believes he is the only one who can drag Kitty back and fight one last battle to solve some unfinished business.
"I'm the one who got him out of the country," Ferguson said on UFC 279 Media Day, "but that guy isn't retiring yet." ”
"At the end of the day, when you lose a loved one, you have to take a break, you have to think, you have to do whatever you have to do, but his father said there was going to be a fight between me and Kabib. He did say it before he died, and Kabib thought the same thing. ”
A large part of Kitty's decision to retire was due to the tragic death of his father, who died of covid-19 complications a few months before his son's final battle. After the UFC 254 victory over Gage, Kitty announced his retirement while promising his mother that he would quit professional combat.
Since then, Kitty has been busy with its own event Eagle FC and has been involved as a coach in athletes such as Makhachev.
Still, Ferguson believes he can lure Kitty back, but even if he doesn't, he hopes to have a chance to compete as a coach among the ultimate fighters of the future.
In fact, UFC Chairman Dana Bai has already expressed interest in letting them coach the Ultimate Gladiator reality show, and now Ferguson is just waiting for Kitty to accept the invitation.
While Ferguson would love to coach the show he previously played as a contestant in 2011, he wasn't sure Nurmagmedov would agree with the idea.
"He's the one who's scared," Ferguson said, "and I hope we're all going to coach and I'm sure we'll make it fun." ”