On April 7 in New York there will be a fight for the title of interim UFC lightweight champion between Dagestani Khabib Nurmagomedov and American Tony Ferguson. The “Online Sports Betting” project, which offers sports forecasts from experts, assessed the chances of mixed-style fighters to win based on bookmaker quotes.

McGregor thought for a long time after losing the belt

After Irishman Conor McGregor temporarily went into professional boxing for a money fight with Floyd Mayweather and still hasn’t decided what to do after losing to the American, uncertainty has arisen in his native UFC lightweight category.

McGregor is really at a crossroads - either to return to mixed martial arts, or to continue boxing and aim for another money fight with another boxing legend - Manny Pacquiao, or to retire from his professional career altogether and devote time to his family.

The UFC has been making concessions to one of the most famous mixed-style fighters for a long time, but now they are ready to take the championship belt away from him, since McGregor has not entered the UFC ring for more than a year. In addition, he begins to set conditions for the association, wanting to fight Nat Diaz for the third time, while the official contenders for his belt were Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov. McGregor lost to Diaz once, then took a not very convincing revenge, but now this fighter is not as interesting to the public as Khabib or Ferguson.

In this situation, the UFC came to the decision to organize a fight between Ferguson and Nurmagomedov, which should take place on April 7. The fight between these fighters has already been canceled twice due to Nurmagomedov’s health problems, but now everything is moving towards the fact that it will actually take place. And in this case, McGregor, if he wants to return to mixed martial arts, will be forced to return his belt in a fight with the winner of this confrontation or renounce his claims to it.

Bookmakers: favorite of the fight – Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib Nurmagomedov recently defeated Brazilian Edson Barboza by unanimous decision in Las Vegas and this victory was called the Performance of the Night on New Year's Eve. Before that, he dealt with the American Michael Johnson, who at one time defeated Tony Ferguson, with a painful hold.

Ferguson, nicknamed "El Cucuy," is a Mexican-American fighter who worked as a bartender by night and a sales representative by day to support his large family in California before starting his professional career. Ferguson often fights in his native California, in his historical homeland in Mexico, as well as in Las Vegas, and for the first time he will compete in New York.

According to the bookmaker Pari-Match, which accepts bets on this fight, the favorite here will be Khabib Nurmagomedov - they give him odds of 1.4, while for Ferguson’s victory - 2.96. You can also bet on the duration of the fight – more or less than 3.5 rounds and that the fight will end early – 1.85. The odds for an early victory for Khabib are 2.85, and the odds for Ferguson winning before the end of the fight are 4.1.

Most mixed martial arts fans are looking forward to the Khabib-Ferguson fight more than any other announced UFC fight. This fight truly looks perfect for any MMA fan. It has everything we love: rivalry history, personal grudges, clashing styles, both men's record winning streaks and, finally, a championship belt on the line. There are five weeks left before the main fight of the spring, and maybe the whole year, and our site decided to collect all the necessary information about the headliners of UFC 223.

When will the Khabib-Ferguson fight take place?

A similar question has been asked to various search engines since the end of 2015. And this is not surprising, because the fight with the sign “Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson” adorned so many posters for various tournaments that they could be used to decorate a wall in a small room. Interestingly, each time the status of the battle increased. First, they were supposed to fight on the main card of the “TUF Finale” tournament, then head the “UFC on FOX” tournament, for the third time they were entrusted with the main event of a numbered tournament, and the winner was supposed to receive an interim belt... And now, finally, it’s at stake undisputed champion title light weight.

The fight between Khabib and Ferguson will headline the UFC 223 tournament, which will take place in Brooklyn (the most populous administrative district of New York approx. If we convert to Moscow time, the fighters will enter the octagon at about eight in the morning on Sunday, April 8. Do you want to support “Eagle” live ?You better hurry!Nurmagomedov and Ferguson will fight under the vaults of the Barclays Center and in the arena, which seats more than 15,000 people, there are not many empty seats left.The cheapest ticket will cost $132.5 plus taxes.

Brief information about Khabib Nurmagomedov

Before the upcoming fight, Khabib Nurmagomedov ranks second in the official UFC lightweight division rankings and has a streak of 25 wins and no losses. He has been performing in the Octagon since January 2012 and the judges have raised his hand 9 times. The most significant successes of the Russian fighter are the following victories:

1. On April 19, 2014, at UFC on FOX 11, he won a unanimous decision over Rafael dos Anjos. At that time, the Brazilian was in the TOP-5 lightweight division, and later became the division champion. Now he is one of the main contenders for the welterweight title.
2. On November 12, 2016, at UFC 205, he defeated Michael Johnson by submission. The American was in the TOP 10 of the division and was considered one of the best boxers in the category. Victoria Khabib was named “Beater of the Year” by many popular publications.
3. On December 30, 2017, at UFC 219, he won a unanimous decision over Edson Barboza. The Brazilian is considered one of the most spectacular strikers in the division, but Khabib was able to “outrun” him with a devastating score (30-25, 30-25, 30-24).

Brief information about Tony Ferguson

Tony got into the biggest promotion in the world by winning the 13th season of the show TUF. The fight against Khabib will be Ferguson’s 15th in the UFC and 27th in his professional career. The American suffered his only defeat in the Octagon at the hands of Michael Johnson at the UFC n FOX 3 tournament in May 2012. Tony is currently on a 10-fight win streak in the UFC lightweight division, a division record. In his last fight, he choked out Kevin Lee to win the promotion's interim championship belt. While in the UFC, Ferguson defeated such fighters as: Gleison Tibau, Josh Thompson, Edson Barboza and Rafael dos Anjos.

More detailed information is available in the fighters section.

Fight between Khabib and Ferguson: interesting facts

• The announcement of the fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson was first published on August 21, 2015. If the fight finally takes place, there will be 960 days between the date it was first announced and the date it actually takes place.
• It seems that "The Eagle" and "El Cucuy" have a mutual dislike from the very beginning, but this is not the case. There was no harsh trash talk or Twitter wars between the fighters before the first scheduled fight. Moreover, after the news about Khabib’s injury, which prevented the first fight, Tony

Russian mixed martial arts fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov is preparing for a fight with Tony Ferguson in San Jose (California), at a boxing gym called AKA. The athletes will fight on March 4 in Las Vegas for the UFC lightweight belt.

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson: watch the fight

One of the main MMA fights of 2017 will be shown live on one of the popular Russian TV channels - Match TV. The battle starts at 6 am Moscow time.

Khabib Nurmagomedov-Tony Ferguson: betting on the fight

The Russian fighter told the Izvestia newspaper that he trains twice a day, and in one training session Khabib can lose up to 3 kg of weight. The Russian and his team trained so that steam was coming off of them, and even the glass of the hall was fogged up.

Both athletes have long unbeaten streaks. As for bookmakers' rates, a slight preference is given to the Russian - 1.5-1.6 versus 2.4-2.5 for Ferguson. Khabib, nicknamed the Eagle, is famous for his signature takedowns, and in 23 fights he has never lost.

As for the 32-year-old Ferguson, he has won 22 of his 25 fights in the UFC. Ferguson is known for his jiu-jitsu skills, sharp tongue and violent temperament.

News has emerged about a statement by UFC President Dan White that the winner of the Ferguson-Nurmagomedov fight will meet Conor McGregor. “I expect Conor to fight his next fight against the winner of the Ferguson-Nurmagomedov fight. These are two tough athletes. First and second rating numbers. It couldn't be better. These guys hate each other,” White said.

The fight for the interim UFC lightweight champion title between Khabib Nurmagomedov and American Tony Ferguson has been canceled due to the Russian's health problems. understands the cause of what happened and assesses the future prospects of the 28-year-old fighter from Dagestan.

What happened

Three hours before the traditional weigh-in ceremony before the fight, Khabib was urgently hospitalized. The athlete’s father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov confirmed this in an interview with Match TV. “Indeed, Khabib was taken to the hospital. But there are still 3 hours before the weigh-in, maybe everything will work out. There are either liver problems or kidney stones. We are waiting for information,” Nurmagomedov Sr. said.

Earlier, in a conversation with a Lenta.ru correspondent, he noted that his son could compete in a heavier weight category, since between fights he weighs about 87 kilograms. The fight with Ferguson was supposed to take place in lightweight weight - up to 70 kilograms. The problem turned out to be precisely this - Nurmagomedov’s team reported that several hours before the weigh-in, Khabib did not meet the required weight, he urgently needed to lose from 2.8 to 3 kilograms.

No stones were found in Nurmagomedov’s kidneys; the Russian expressed his readiness to fight, but the fight was already cancelled. One could have expected a sharp reaction from the opponent, because Ferguson and Khabib regularly threw mud at each other in the media and social networks. But Tony showed nobility and only wished his opponent a speedy recovery.

The Russian team returned the favor with kindness. “I sincerely apologize to Tony and his camp. The most important thing at the moment is Khabib’s health. Now he is in his room. We are not thinking about the future yet. “I want to apologize again to Tony, his team and all UFC fans, we really really wanted to make this fight,” said Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdel-Aziz.

A day before the fight, two people expressed a desire to replace Nurmagomedov at once - who lost without a chance to Khabib in November and Nate Diaz, who does not miss a single opportunity to fight, and therefore make money. Ferguson himself refused to fight Johnson. By the way, Tony’s only defeat in the UFC was inflicted by him, in May 2012. Diaz did not meet the 70 kilogram requirement for a lightweight. In addition, according to the American, in the event of a replacement, the UFC refused to consider the fight a title fight and significantly reduced Tony’s fee.

Vague prospects

This is not the first time that Nurmagomedov’s fight with Ferguson has been disrupted. In December 2015, the fight was canceled due to an injury to the Russian, and in April 2016, due to lung problems with the American. Khabib’s prospects in the world’s strongest promotion are vague, because the winner of his fight with Ferguson was supposed to meet with the current UFC lightweight champion, the Irishman. But he looks at the situation philosophically.

“I do everything I can: I train every day from morning to evening, I live by it. I want to perform and please the fans. What does not depend on me, I cannot guarantee or fulfill,” Khabib noted.

Nurmagomedov Sr. calmly reacted to the cancellation of the fight and called on the public not to panic ahead of time. “It was the right decision. You can't risk your health. We will discuss the future of Khabib’s career later, in a week. He still has two years to compete,” summed up the fighter’s father.

Over the past month, two fights involving top Russian fighters have already broken down in the United States. On February 19, the fight with American Matt Mitrione was canceled. Athletes under contract with the second most powerful promotion in the world, Bellator, did not enter the octagon due to kidney stones found in Mitrione.

Everything is clear with Emelianenko’s future. If Mitrione does not have time to recover, then the Russian’s opponent will be another American fighter, Mohammed Lawal. The fight is scheduled for May-June 2017. But what awaits Nurmagomedov is still unclear. The only plus of the story with the cancellation of the fight is that Khabib’s defeat column still shows zero.