UFC 249: Tony Ferguson says forget Khabib – Justin Gaethje fight ‘is for the real title’
- Ferguson insists UFC 249 main event is ‘not for the interim title … I’m defending my belt for the third time’
- ‘El Cucuy’ tells lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor to retire – ‘there’s only two real men out there and that’s me and Justin’
Tony Ferguson may officially be fighting to win his second interim lightweight title. But he doesn’t see it that way at all.
“El Cucuy” won his first interim belt against Kevin Lee in October 2017. But he was stripped after a freak injury in fight week ruled him out of a bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title, which had been stripped from Conor McGregor for inactivity. The Russian went on to beat Al laquinta to become undisputed champion.
That was the fourth time the Ferguson vs Nurmagomedov match-up had been scuppered. Of course, there was to be a fifth failure last month when the global coronavirus pandemic put paid to the original UFC 249 main event on April 18 in Brooklyn. After a big shake-up, Ferguson (25-3) is now fighting Justin Gaethje (21-2) in a rescheduled main event on May 9 in Jacksonville, Florida, behind closed doors.
“F*** Khabib, I’m gonna be real. I’m defending my belt for the third time,” Ferguson said on a UFC 249 conference call with media. “This is for the real belt, this is not for the interim title. This is for real championship s***, it’s champ s*** only buddy.”
For No 4-ranked lightweight Gaethje, he admitted he would not see a victory over Ferguson on Saturday night as proof he is the best in the division.