Watch Tony Ferguson’s live reaction as Khabib Nurmagomedov announces his retirement

Cameras were on UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson when Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from MMA following UFC 254.

Ferguson and Nurmagomedov have a long history between each other that dates back nearly a decade. The two have been connected to five fights in the past, but they all fell through for various issues. Freak injuries, bad timing, and even the coronavirus pandemic led this dream matchup to fizzle five times. Despite the apparent jinx on making his bout, both Ferguson and Nurmagomedov have said that the fight could still happen one day. However, Nurmagomedov’s apparent retirement changes things.

After submitting Justin Gaethje in the second round of their title fight main event back at UFC 254 in October, Nurmagomedov took the microphone and used his post-fight speech as an opportunity to retire from the sport. In the weeks since Nurmagomedov made that proclamation, there have been whispers that he could change his mind and still fight again. But as of right now, Nurmagomedov is very much on the fence. If he does choose to step away from the sport, then the Ferguson fight won’t ever happen.

Hearing the news that Nurmagomedov was hanging up his gloves following UFC 254, Ferguson flipped out. Watch below to see his live reaction to the retirement speech.

The lost of a rival… @TonyFergusonXT's reaction to Khabib's retirement is heartbreaking 🤬

[ Via Watch Party now on @UFCFightPass ] pic.twitter.com/emuEPcRz9j

— UFC (@ufc) December 12, 2020

If Nurmagomedov does indeed hang up his gloves, then fans won’t get to see him ever fight Ferguson. Even with the five previous cancelations, this is still a matchup that MMA fans are craving to see one day. Hopefully, it happens sooner than later, and there is a chance it could. If Ferguson can defeat Charles Oliveira at UFC 256 in an impressive fashion, it’s possible that a win could convince Nurmagomedov to fight him after all. All Ferguson can control at this point is his performance against Oliveira.

Do you think we will ever see Tony Ferguson fight Khabib Nurmagomedov?