One of the top fixtures for MMA fans to look out for would be in 2020 when Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson have a go at each other.
The president of the UFC, Dana White, had earlier announced that a Nurmagomedov v Ferguson fight was in the works, but did not give exact details surrounding the fight, until it was confirmed by Brett Okamoto of ESPN, who said the fight would take place on the 18th of April at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York.
Nurmagomedov would get to defend his lightweight title as he is scheduled to face Ferguson for the fifth time. The two have been paired up to fight a total of four times before, but the fight had never held.
It all started in 2015 where they were scheduled to meet, but an injury Nurmagomedov suffered while training forced him to pull out of the event. The match was later slated to hold four months later but did not see the light of day either as a lung problem forced Ferguson to withdraw from the fixture.
Two years later, in 2017, the two were once again scheduled to meet at the UFC 209, and it seemed like it would be a reality until Nurmagomedov had to be rushed to the hospital due to a weight cut, and that stopped the bout from taking place.
April 2018 held similar promises, but as fate would have it, the two lightweight stars did not still meet. This time, it was Ferguson who suffered a knee injury after tripping over cables in a pre-fight press talk although Nurmagomedov faced Al Iaquinta, who he beat to win the UFC Lightweight title.
So it had been that fate had not allowed the two fighters to have a go at each other, due to circumstances beyond their immediate control. That is why the MMA world is very hopeful that April 2020 gives them a fight they have waited five years to see. Already, Ferguson and his crew came into Las Vegas and signed the terms of the contract surrounding the fight. Nurmagomedov had done so earlier last week. What that means is that, as far as things can be predicted, the fight is happening.
We just have to see if things pan out as normal and see who the better man is between the two.
Written by: Leon Osamor
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