“I’ll consider it”- Dana White entertains the idea of booking Khabib vs a former UFC Champion
“The Ultimate Fighter” is a reality tv show produced by the UFC where young fighters compete against each other for a chance at a UFC contract. Besides watching upcoming fighters a big draw to the show is the rivalries between the coaches. One of the biggest rivalries in the UFC is between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.
There is now hope to see these two face off once again. This time as opposing head coaches for “The Ultimate Fighter”. A Khabib vs Ferguson season of “The Ultimate Fighter” was brought to Dana White’s attention in an interview with Barstool Sports. Dana White stated,
“I’ll consider it… I will absolutely entertain that idea”
(H/T Barstool Sports)
Ferguson is an active fighter that is coming off a KO loss in May to Michael Chandler. Whereas, Khabib has been retired since October of 2020 when he defended his belt against Justin Gaethje. Nonetheless, he has kept busy by buying his own MMA promotion. Khabib runs a fight promotion titled “Eagle FC” that is based in his home country of Russia. Although a fight is not likely between the two fighters due to their circumstances. Dana White, when talking about a possible Khabib vs Ferguson season, humorously exclaimed,
“Hopefully, They’ll get pissed off enough at each other that they’ll actually want to fight”
(H/T Barstool Sports)
Khabib vs Ferguson timeline
This fight has been booked an incredible five times and it has fallen apart all five times. Their first meeting was booked in 2015. Khabib was forced to pull out because of a rib injury. The second fight was called off in 2016. Ferguson had an issue with his lung that resulted in the cancellation. The third fight was an Interim title match in March 2017. However, the fight was once again canceled. A Khabib weight issue a day before the contest was the cause this time.
In January of 2018, the fight is booked for the fourth time. The fight was canceled when Ferguson pulled out because of a knee injury. This was a freak accident. He sustained a serious knee injury when he tripped a week before the fight. Finally, the fight is set up for the fifth time. The fight was booked in November 2019 for a fight date of April 2020. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic took the world over in March as events around the world began to get shut down. Subsequently, this led to the fight being canceled for the fifth time.
A Khabib vs Ferguson matchup seems to be cursed. This fight will have been a long time coming as there have been five cancellations for multiple reasons. There have been various injuries and even a global pandemic that have stopped these two from stepping into the cage. However, Dana White’s words on a possible Khabib vs Ferguson “The Ultimate Fighter” season has at least given people some optimism. Hopefully, one day the world will get to watch these two legends face-off inside the octagon.
