Khabib Nurmagomedov knew Tony Ferguson was beaten before he entered the Octagon against Charles Oliveira at UFC 256 this past weekend.
Although Nurmagomedov didn’t make a prediction for Ferguson vs. Oliveira, ‘The Eagle’ knew back in October that ‘El Cucuy’ was ‘finished’ after his brutal TKO loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249, which saw Ferguson finished in the fifth round after taking a beating for four rounds prior.
“Nobody can be same long time — no Tony Ferguson, no Khabib, nobody,” Nurmagomedov said. “And one day somebody gonna beat you or something gonna happen. God don’t give to nobody free power, reaction, mental, everything in one level always. One day it’s gonna go down.
“And his day come, it was in May. Tony Ferguson’s time is finished. How he gonna come back? Someone gonna beat him again, I believe, because when you take damage like this you never gonna be same, never ever, even if you’re Tony Ferguson.” (Transcribed by SPORTS BIBLE)
Nurmagomedov, it turns out, was right. Ferguson suffered the worst loss of his UFC career on Saturday evening, dropping a lopsided unanimous decision after being manhandled by Oliveira for three full rounds in the UFC 256 main event.
Whether he is really ‘finished’ as a top competitor, however, remains to be seen.
About the author
