When news broke that that Tony Ferguson was out of the UFC 223 title fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov “The Eagle” thought it was some kind of April Fool’s joke. As it turns out it was not. Ferguson injured his knee, requiring surgery and was off the much anticipated UFC 223 card.
By now we know that an always game Max Holloway stepped up to save the UFC 223 card, but Holloway was not the guy on Khabib’s wish list, telling Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour that he asked the UFC one thing: Where is Conor McGregor?
“Where is this Burger King?” Nurmagomedov said. “Take this Burger King here.”
Nurmagomedov (25-0) joked that now that McGregor is getting big-time sponsorships like Burger King, the UFC does not want to put him in any precarious situations.
“I think they want him to look nice,” Nurmagomedov said. “He famous. If I change his face … they won’t take somebody who has crazy face… I don’t understand. When I am ready, when I am healthy, nobody talk. … Now I’m here. Where are you guys? Only Max Holloway shows up.”
Some would say to be careful what you wish for. Nurmagomedov must have already been on McGregor’s radar, but calling him out in the manner could only create a brighter spotlight. In true McGregor fashion, ‘The King” responded on Twitter. I’d post the tweet, but it has a level of vulgarity not suitable for some of the kids that read this blog. If you’re interested in seeing McGregor’s response, head to twitter. You’ll find it there.
One thing is for sure, Nurmagomedov is not short on skill or confidence and with a win at UFC 223, he said he’ll leave no more doubts about who is the best 155-pounder in the world.
“In jungle, only one king,” Nurmagomedov said. “You cannot be like, this guy king, this guy interim king. It’s all crazy stuff. I’m gonna take the belt, I’m gonna show my numbers. Ten years undisputed and undefeated champion and everything becomes calm, everybody understand.”
Andy Gonzalez is a coach at Aces Jiu Jitsu Club. He has earned his BJJ Brown Belt under 2nd Degree Black Belt, Professor Mikal Abdullah. Follow Andy on Twitter at @GoGoGonzilla
Andy lives in Austin, Texas with his wife Amanda and their 3 beautiful children. Andy is also the father of a Marine who is honorably serving in the United States Marine Corps.