If you thought the Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov saga was finished, think again. Just when fans had packed away their hopes of ever seeing these two UFC legends square off, Ferguson has thrown another curveball—this time with reality TV in his sights and Khabib firmly in his crosshairs.
Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
In a recent interview, Ferguson made it clear he’s got his sights set on coaching a season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) — but only if Khabib is on the other side of the gym. “With The Ultimate Fighter, it was always going to be against Khabib. That’s the only person I want to coach against,” Ferguson said, giving fans a fresh dose of the matchup that never was. This was in reference to TUF 33 debuting just this week.
For those new to the saga, Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov were the UFC’s ultimate “will-they-won’t-they.” The two were booked to fight not once, not twice, but five times, with each attempt falling apart due to injuries, weight cut disasters, and a global pandemic for good measure.
Khabib Nurmagomedov, the undefeated lightweight king, retired in 2020 with his perfect record intact, while Ferguson, known for his wild fighting style and even wilder soundbites, has kept plugging away in the division.
Now, Ferguson wants to take the rivalry out of the octagon and into the TUF house. “I can’t wait to coach on the show… When it goes into it, I coach people to train to kill people, and what better else than a person that’s like an assassin?” he said, never one to shy away from a dramatic metaphor.
Tony Ferguson’s enthusiasm for coaching is clear, and he claims he’s ready to pass on his unique brand of chaos to the next generation. “When I got the structure to be able to go in there and put it behind the talent and the conditioning – got cut up and they didn’t want to return – that is, in essence, I teach that. And that’s not just hereditary, I teach that. And when I teach that, I teach them to be comfortable in front of cameras.”
Ferguson’s message to Khabib was delivered with his trademark mix of bravado and a wink: “So, when you’re ready – I know you’re getting ready, dude – I’m just starting to coach. So when I get bigger and better and stuff like that, the coaching thing is like those little thoughts that you had after your degree. I’m adding them up, and so we’ll see you soon, buddy.”
Whether Khabib Nurmagomedov, now more coach and businessman than fighter, will bite is anyone’s guess. But if the UFC wants ratings, putting Ferguson and Nurmagomedov together under one roof is a recipe that’s hard to beat. After all, if they can’t fight in the cage, maybe they can at least battle it out with clipboards and whistle drills.
