KirkBJJ -KirkBJJ -The hype has already begun if a blue can please help...
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByajIP4pSnX/?igshid=13akf461f7da2
Can somebody please post this pic? It's worth it imo... definitely had me lol'ing
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Is Tony setting some kind of record for consecutive wins (12, 9 finishes) without getting a title shot? (for the real belt, no interim bs).
PassnSmash -El_Geronimo_de_Gato -
Lol best part is after all that time it's for a stupid interim title :D
Dana just said Khabib vs Dustin goes down in Abu Dhabi and Tony is coming off a great win and he "assumes" he is next. Its funny, I've never heard Dana say he "assumes" anything.
Is this some sort of leverage thing vs Conor with the negotiations.
He want back to his classic line on Conor about it being hard for rich guys to want to fight.
Both comments tell me negotiations are not where he wants them to do Khabib vs Conor II or Poirier vs Conor II next depending who wins.
Seems if he was not negotiating a deal for Conor to get the next title fight behind the scenes he would just come out and say Tony is next because he has a 12 fight win streak or Conor is fighting at the end of the year but an opponent has not been decided.
Sounds like the Conor negotiations are stalled and thats why he is bringing Tony up again, right after Cowboy vs Tony he was taking advantage of Cowboy bringing up Cowboy vs Tony II. like he could tie Tony up with that and let Conor slide in to the next title shot.
Who knows.
Khabib vs Tony for the title has certainly been perhaps the most complex saga in the history of MMA.
1) Khabib vs Porier needs to happen next for the title no matter what. That unifies the belts.
2) Tony was an interim holder and as such should be next to fight the title holder.
3) Khabib vs Conor would be great and even better for the title but in reality Tony should be first.
The problem with all this is that the UFC no longer makes fights based on contender numbers but on what fights will sell the most.
Dana said he “assumed” Tony was next and now says it is absolutely possible Conor is gonna get the shot. The saga continues.
Though UFC 240 is set to go down this weekend featuring a featherweight title fight, eyes are already looking ahead to UFC 242 and the title unification bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier. And with that fight on the horizon, the future of the lightweight division is bright, so says Dana White.
Speaking with Rich Eisen on Thursday, the UFC president addressed what is next at lightweight for the recently crowned most successful Russian athlete, assuming Nurmagomedov can get through Poirier.
“It’s a very interesting division because you have Khabib, you have Tony Ferguson, Conor McGregor, Donald Cerrone’s in the mix, Justin Gaethje - there’s just so many unbelievable fights in that weight class and Khabib keeps talking about fighting Georges St. Pierre again,” White said. “St-Pierre retired but when St-Pierre retired, he retired basically saying I won’t if I can fight Khabib. So there’s so many different, crazy, interesting things that we can do at that weight class.”
Lightweight has long been considered the premiere division in MMA for depth of talent but right now may be the best the division has ever been. Nurmagomedov hasn’t lost in over a decade. Poirier is the interim lightweight champion after stopping Max Holloway’s 13-fight winning streak. Hell, Tony Ferguson is on a 12-fight winning streak and not even fighting for the title. Now, if Khabib beats Poirier, he has said he would like to fight Ferguson next, however, Dana White suggests there’s another fight the UFC may be interested in making instead: a rematch with Conor McGregor.
“It would be a massive fight and it’s absolutely possible, yes,” White said. “I think McGregor is gonna come back at the beginning of next year. So, realistically, all these guys are looking at September to see what happens with Khabib and Poirier. After that fight plays out, I think there’s gonna be a lot of movement going on.”
Nurmagomedov and McGregor fought in October of last year, blowing the previous UFC pay-per-view record out of the water. The fight itself was almost as dominant as the PPV numbers, with Nurmagomedov smashing McGregor before submitting him in the fourth round. But after the fight, Nurmagomedov jumped over the fence causing a now infamous brawl that resulted in his fine and put the lightweight division on hold while he waited out his suspension. The brawl also piqued interest in a rematch between the two. McGregor, meanwhile, has completed his suspension but has yet to settle on a return date, having previously retired and then unretired after reigniting his beef with Khabib. There were rumors of a fight with Donald Cerrone but now White says McGregor is waiting until September to see what comes of Khabib’s title defense.
“To Conor’s credit and defense, you don’t see Conor running around filming movies,” White said. “If you look at his - he’s in great shape, he’s staying in shape, he’s training, and he’s seeing how this thing plays out.”
If McGregor truly is sitting out and waiting, then he likely has a decent chance at jumping the line to get another title shot. Considering McGregor and Khabib are now the two biggest stars in the UFC, a rematch is likely the most lucrative fight the UFC can make at this point, and though he was talking about a Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao rematch, White made a point that rings eerily close to home with regard to a Conor-Khabib rematch.
“Any time there’s too much money involved, Rich, bet on it happening.”
Tony is now 35. Khabib is 30.
Khabib has been in the UFC nine years, Tony has been in the UFC ten years.
These are guys we should have seen fight two or three times in their career and we are stuck at zero.
BJ Penn Forever -Tony is now 35. Khabib is 30.
Khabib has been in the UFC nine years, Tony has been in the UFC ten years.
These are guys we should have seen fight two or three times in their career and we are stuck at zero.
Agreed, but to the UFC's defense it's not like they haven't tried to put this fight together multiple times.
Jones right nostril -BJ Penn Forever -Tony is now 35. Khabib is 30.
Khabib has been in the UFC nine years, Tony has been in the UFC ten years.
These are guys we should have seen fight two or three times in their career and we are stuck at zero.
Agreed, but to the UFC's defense it's not like they haven't tried to put this fight together multiple times.
Oh I don't blame the UFC or either fighter, in this case I blame the MMA Gods.
We might find out in a couple weeks if Conor gets the Khabib vs Poirier winner.
If Conor does get the winner, you have to wonder what Tony does.
Conor said he would have fought in June if not for a hand injury.
The history of the LW division and Khabib, Tony and Conor’s injuries has been an ugly shitshow of epic proportions.
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ConorWinsTheRematch -"Khabib and Tony are 2 of the three best lightweights in the world. How will Tony hold up against the pressure? Will Tony be able to withstand the ground and pound of Khabib. Can Tony submit Khabib? Will Tony cut Khabib with those elbows?"
^^
YIKES. Yeeah, those questions are boring as fuck. The "answers" to those questions will be boring as fuck. Just go watch the Castillo fight. Khabib will dry hump Tony much worse then that. You must be a newb, because Khabib has never been known for having exciting fights. The most exciting thing Khabib has ever done in the cage, is jump out of it. People still don't even know his name lulz. They just know him as that crazy muslim terrorist, who Conor fought, who committed criminal acts after the fight. Your day is coming soon enough. I promise you Conor now knows Khabib's entire game better then Khabib himself knows it. Conor will know what Khabib is thinking, what he will do, and when. Ever since the loss Conor has been doing nothing but studying Khabib. Conor is going to make Khabib look like a punching bag in the rematch. This i Promise you.
Who doesn't know his name? The guy with almost 17 million Instagram followers. Who has ever referred to him as a crazy Muslim terrorist? You say a lot of shit and then just run away, if you make a claim, how come you can never back it up and when someone calls you out on it, you just duck?
Khabib just said in his ESPN interview that he wants Tony next. Says Conor has to go win a fight.
All he has to do now is beat Dustin then all Tony has to do is stay healthy and maybe we can see it as the Jan PPV headliner.
BJ Penn Forever - Khabib just said in his ESPN interview that he wants Tony next. Says Conor has to go win a fight.All he has to do now is beat Dustin then all Tony has to do is stay healthy and maybe we can see it as the Jan PPV headliner.
They better have a really strong co-main for whatever show they put it on… strong enough to be a main event in case this fight really is cursed.
KirkBJJ -BJ Penn Forever - Khabib just said in his ESPN interview that he wants Tony next. Says Conor has to go win a fight.All he has to do now is beat Dustin then all Tony has to do is stay healthy and maybe we can see it as the Jan PPV headliner.
They better have a really strong co-main for whatever show they put it on… strong enough to be a main event in case this fight really is cursed.
Doing Conor vs Gaethje/Cowboy winner as the co-main and #1 contenders fight would be perfect so one of those guys could step in but you know they will make that fight its own PPV. Gaethje still has to beat Cowboy for it to happen.
Whoever it is, if Khabib can beat Dustin and Khabib vs Tony gets booked, you know they will have a couple top ten LWs on that card who are ready to go in case the fights gets canceled for a 5th time.
Well Tony said on Ariel's show that UFC told him he is next for the title shot and he wants it in December.
Sounds like if the Poirier puzzle is solved then the fight is set. Once that happens they both gotta get through camp.
https://www.mmafighting.com/2019/9/5/20851219/dana-white-if-tony-fergusons-ready-he-will-face-the-winner-of-khabib-nurmagomedov-vs-dustin-poirier
Now UFC president Dana White has chimed in by confirming Ferguson will get the next shot at the belt – under one condition.
“Listen, again, if Tony Ferguson’s ready,” White told ESPN when asked if the former ‘Ultimate Fighter’ winner will get the next title shot. “Tony Ferguson’s been offered opportunities before that he hasn’t taken. If Tony’s ready then yeah [he’s next].”
The opportunity that White mentioned likely stems from an offer made to him earlier this year to face featherweight king Max Holloway in a fight to determine an interim lightweight champion while Nurmagomedov was sidelined due to a suspension.
At the time, Ferguson was dealing with issues in his personal life but perhaps more importantly, he had already been an interim champion previously only to have his belt stripped away when he suffered a knee injury while promoting his scheduled bout against Nurmagomedov in 2018.
Rather than allowing Ferguson to keep his belt until he returned, the UFC stripped the title and declared Nurmagomedov the undisputed champion after he defeated late notice replacement Al Iaquinta.
That obviously bothered Ferguson, who has since tacked on two more victories to his incredible win streak with stoppages against both Anthony Pettis and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
Of course one other factor that has to come into play is the possibility that former two-division champion Conor McGregor inserts himself into the title picture after calling for a rematch against Nurmagomedov following a fourth-round submission loss to him last October.
According to White, he’s stayed in constant contact with the Irish superstar but as of right now there’s no exact timeline for his next fight and McGregor won’t be making an appearance at UFC 242 in an attempt to stake his claim to the next title shot.
“He will not be here but he’ll be watching,” White said. “It’s all going to depend on his hand and how fast it recovers [to determine his return date].”
We are about to find out if Khabib vs Tony is gonna happen or not. Adds another dimension to this title fight.
There it is.
Khabib vs Tony should be announced later this month. Both men want this fight. Two of the greatest undefeated streaks in UFC history.
5th time is the charm.