UFC Fight News 2015: Khabib Nurmagomedov Out of Tony Ferguson Fight Due to Injury
Khabib Nurmagomedov should be one of UFC's most bankable fighters, if not for all the setbacks he has been facing lately. Ranked no. 3 in MMA lightweight rankings, the Russian mixed martial artist has had a couple of fights scrapped due to nagging knee injuries. This time, though, his highly anticipated fight against Tony Ferguson is once again in doubt after announcing that he has an injured rib.
His UFC debut almost four years ago propelled him to MMA stardom. Since that win (via submission in the third round) against Kamal Shalorus, he's been blitzing through competition ever since, winning six straight fights in the UFC. What's even more amazing is that he hasn't lost any rounds in the promotion, thus far. He currently holds the longest winning streak in the MMA for any active UFC fighter, per report from MMAJunkie.
But this latest injury is another blow to a fighter who should already be headlining pay-per-view fight cards already. His Dec.11 fight against Ferguson was supposed to be his ticket to more lucrative fights, and there's no surprise if he'll win crowds with his undefeated record.
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Ariel Helwani via MMA Fighting revealed that the UFC is currently looking at Edson Barboza to replace Nurmagomedov for the TUF 22 Finale, a fight card that will be headlined by Chad Mendes versus Frankie Edgar. Barboza currently owns a record of 3-1 in his last four encounters, while Ferguson is currently on a roll, winning his last six fights.
Before the two knee injuries, the man they call the "The Eagle" was supposed to be the no.1 ranked lightweight, but the promotion dropped him to third after being inactive.
There are no reports as to when the 27-year-old will be able to return to action, but it looks like the way he answers questions about his return implies that he no longer is interested in fighting, at least for now.
