Tony Ferguson needed a “lucky shot” to beat me

UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov says Tony Ferguson never had a chance to beat him.

Ferguson, who once won 12 fights in a row, was long considered Nurmagomedov’s biggest threat. The two faced each other five times, but each time a fight was canceled, leaving their rivalry unresolved.

Ferguson was determined that he would be the one to inflict former UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov’s first loss, but “The Eagle” said his style made for a nightmare matchup.

“I’m a little sad, but at the same time I always understood that my game is worse for him,” Nurmagomedov said on the “Inspire Me Podcast.” “He has no wrestling. He has no grappling. What was he going to do with me? How was he going to stop me? The only chance he had to stop me was a lucky shot, like with everyone. Like with Conor (McGregor), with (Dustin) Poirier, with Justin Gaethje.”

“Everyone talks about how if Khabib gets a lucky punch they can stop him, but other things: how are they going to stop me? When he fought Danny Castillo, (Beneil) Dariush, Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira, all those guys were taking him down. He had no wrestling defense. He wasn’t good at grappling. My fight game was worse than him. I’m a little sad, but what can we do?”

After the cancellation of their fifth and final fight at UFC 249 due to COVID-19-related travel bans, Nurmagomedov and Ferguson’s careers took starkly different paths. Ferguson’s winning streak was ended by Justin Gaethje, snapping a UFC-record eight-fight winning streak following his loss to Michael Chiesa earlier this month at UFC on ABC 7.

Nurmagomedov fought only one more time, defeating Gaethje to retain his lightweight title at UFC 254. He retired immediately afterward.

“I’m a little sad, but time has shown who has what level,” said Nurmagomedov.