Khabib Nurmagomedov will go to war with Tony Ferguson both inside and outside the Octagon. But even the UFC’s lightweight champion knows some topics are off limits.
Ahead of their clash at UFC 249 in April, Nurmagomedov and Ferguson traded verbal barbs during a pre-fight press conference last week in Las Vegas. During the question and answer session, a reporter brought up Ferguson’s mental health after reports surfaced last year that his wife filed a restraining order against him while asking that he undergo a psychiatric evaluation for his alleged behavior.
Ferguson fired back as he shut down the question by shouting “f*ck you” and leaving the subject closed.
While not nearly as animated as his upcoming opponent, Nurmagomedov seems to agree with Ferguson on mental health and the issues he dealt with at home one year ago.
“Honestly, there’s nothing personal here,” Nurmagomedov said when addressing Ferguson at the Dominance MMA media day last Saturday. “I don’t want to talk about his problem, like family stuff, mental stuff.
“This is his problem. Leave him alone. I don’t want to talk about him, about his problems.”
Nurmagomedov may not think much of Ferguson’s unique brand of trash talk, which resulted in the undefeated Russian calling him a “stupid guy” this past week. But he doesn’t feel the need to tear him down for potentially serious issues in his personal life.
Part of the reason Nurmagomedov seethed with anger when facing Conor McGregor in 2018 was in large part due to the Irish superstar’s trash talk at the lightweight champion’s wife and family.
That never sat well with Nurmagomedov, so he’s not going to look to take any low blows or cheap shots on Ferguson – no matter how much he wants to beat him when they fight on April 18.
“Everybody who sit here, everybody has problems,” Nurmagomedov explained. “Nobody’s safe. If he needs help, we have to help him but we’re going to fight next month. I don’t to think about him, he is my opponent.
“Talk about his mental problem…I don’t think it’s good stuff.”
