UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has come forward to offer his thoughts on Khabib Nurmagomedov’s upcoming title fight against UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson. For Cormier, Ferguson is likely to have a tough time against his AKA teammate.
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson are set to face off for the undisputed UFC lightweight title in the main event of the highly anticipated fight card UFC 223. The live pay-per-view event will take place April 7 inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
American Kickboxing Academy’s Daniel Cormier recently sat down with Bloody Elbow to offer his thoughts on teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov’s chances against Tony Ferguson in the upcoming match up. Check out what the UFC light heavyweight champion had to say below:
“I’m not going to be cornering him, I’m just going to watch and support him as a teammate. Me and my family are going. My son loves Khabib and can’t wait to watch him.
“In terms of the breakdown, I think this is a great fight and a very winnable one for Khabib. He just has to understand that this will be one of those ugly fights where Tony may cut him, and he’s got to be okay dealing with the blood.
“He’s got to be okay with just being in a really nasty fight, because as weird as Tony Ferguson is, he’s as tough as they come—one of the toughest son-of-a-guns I’ve ever seen. I mean, I watched Edson Barboza beat the shit out of him for a while, and what did he do? He came back and submitted him. He’s just a tough-ass dude. He will never quit on himself.
“The most telling thing when I think about this fight is that Kevin Lee is an ultra-talented guy. I like Kevin Lee and think he’s a very good fighter. But, when you talk about top pressure and top control, he does not have the reputation for being a smothering top fighter like Khabib.
“He was able to take Tony down and get to the full mount, with staph Kevin Lee had staph and he was able to get in that dominant position. I think that would be the most worrisome thing for me if I am Team Ferguson. You cannot do that with Khabib, you won’t get up. You’re stuck there forever. Good fight, though. I can’t wait to go watch.”
