Tony Ferguson rips into Khabib Nurmagomedov over Dagestan vs. Ireland MMA claims: "Once a coward, always a coward"

Tony Ferguson responded to Khabib Nurmagomedov's debate-sparking opinion on Dagestan vs. Ireland MMA.

Russia's Nurmagomedov and Ireland's Conor McGregor established a legendary rivalry in 2018. The long-building tension ended with the Dagestan native winning their unforgettable UFC 229 fight by fourth-round submission.

Since then, Russia and Ireland have been enemies in the mixed martial arts world. Earlier this week, Nurmagomedov added fuel to the feud between the two countries with the following message on Twitter:

"You can say whatever you want, but if we’re talking about facts, you can’t compare Irish fighters with fighters from Dagestan. We dominate amateur MMA, and it’s not even close—not just compared to Irish fighters but the whole world. I’m absolutely confident that if we were to organize a team vs. team matchup, Dagestan would defeat a world team in amateur MMA."

Nurmagomedov continued:

"And when it comes to professional MMA, we have champions, contenders, and ranked fighters in every major league. Show me Irish fighters who are currently title contenders in the top 3 MMA promotions. At best, you might be able to name 1 or 2 fighters. The facts speak for themselves."

Tony Ferguson, who's been a longtime rival of Khabib Nurmagomedov, responded to the previously mentioned Twitter post by writing:

"Shut Up Fathead Eure Still My B*tch, You fought 2 round “pro” padded fights leading up to the @ufc Easy to talk when you’re not competing ya Eunic Once a coward always a coward - Champ -CSO- # 29-1 ok maybe 2"

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The cursed matchup between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson

Fight cancellations are common in MMA due to the many factors leading up to an event. When it comes to repeated cancellations, a matchup has never been more "cursed" than Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson.

The controversy started in 2015 when Nurmagomedov pulled out with a rib injury. Four months later, Ferguson withdrew from their re-scheduled matchup due to shockingly having fluid and blood in his lungs.

The third attempt to have Nurmagomedov and Ferguson fight was in 2017. Nurmagomedov suffered from weight-cutting complications, forcing him to be hospitalized and miss the UFC 209 matchup.

Ferguson and Nurmagomedov were then scheduled to fight at UFC 223 in April 2018. Ferguson was on a production set fulfilling media obligations when he tripped over wires, leading to a torn ligament in his knee.

When the MMA community thought that the bout would finally come to fruition at UFC 249 in April 2020, travel restrictions due to COVID-19 made Nurmagomedov unable to leave Russia. The fight was eventually canceled - for the fifth time.

Nurmagomedov has since retired from MMA, making it extremely unlikely that he will ever fight Ferguson.