With less than 24 hours before fight night, UFC 209 was suddenly crippled. The interim 155-pound title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson was called off after Khabib was deemed unfit to compete by doctors.
The supposed co-main event fight was considered by many as the “people’s main event”, which is why the cancellation was a major letdown. But despite the circumstances, “El Cucuy” remains positive and had nothing but well wishes for Nurmagomedov.
“It was just some sh—y stuff that you have to go through, this happens in the fight game,” Ferguson said, addressing the crowd in attendance for the UFC 209 weigh-ins. “No disrespect to the UFC or to Khabib, everything happens for a reason.”
“So I want every single one of you to give love for the UFC, to give love to Khabib. And I really want you guys to buy this pay-per-view because the rest of the f–king card is amazing!”
The lightweight fight between Lando Vannata and David Teymur is now the card’s co-main event feature, while the women’s strawweight bout between Amanda Cooper and Cynthia Calvillo has been bumped up to the main card. The headliner will see Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson go at it for the welterweight title for the second.
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