Fan’s were torn when last weekend’s UFC 209 co-main event was cancelled. An interim lightweight title fight was set up between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson. The fight could have very well been a main event on its own. Still, the fight never happened.

“The Eagle” was suffering from weight management issues that landed him in the hospital, keeping the fighter from making it to weigh-ins. The fight was officially cancelled the day before the event, leaving Ferguson with no opponent and UFC 209 with no co-main event.

In a recent interview with Arial Helwani on The MMA Hour podcast, Ferguson explained what precisely was going through his head during the unfortunate event.

“It never crossed my mind, not one time. Out of all of the stuff that Khabib was saying, I gave respect to him. I still wish he’s doing good. But, I just think it was very disrespectful and very unprofessional, especially after all of the sacrifices that I put in to this fight.” Ferguson said, when asked if he ever believed that “The Eagle” would back out of the fight.

Ferguson went on to explain that he still had 2 lbs. to lose going into weigh-ins. He lost them and made weight, but was feeling very poorly during the experience.

Ferguson handled the news very well, as he tweeted a heartfelt message to Nurmagomedov.

“I would love to fight Khabib, but there is no guarantee that he is going to show up and make weight. I found out too that he was eating tiramisu a couple weeks ago on [UFC] Embedded. I’m like, ‘what is this guy doing? Really?’ It’s plain disrespectful. It’s very unprofessional and my next fight needs to be a title fight.” Ferguson told Helwani. “I need someone who is just guaranteed to show up.”

Ferguson seems unsure if a rematch is the next step for him. “If we are talking Khabib, there has got to be some kind of guarantee or insurance for this.” Ferguson explained, before mentioning that emotions were beginning to build at home. “My family and I are kind of going through some crazy emotions right now, because now it’s starting to sit in.”

Ferguson ended with the solid hope, “I’m still staying professional. I still wish him good luck.”