Khabib Nurmagomedov suggests potential dates for rescheduled Tony Ferguson fight

Khabib Nurmagomedov will not be fighting Tony Ferguson on April 18 as originally planned. This marks the fifth time the bout has fallen through, but the hope is that the UFC will try for a sixth time to book the fight when the coronavirus pandemic subsides.

Speaking during an Instagram Live session on Thursday, Nurmagomedov offered up two potential dates for a rescheduled fight with Ferguson, noting that he will first have celebrate Ramadan — a period during which he never fights.

See what he had to say below (h/t Aaron Bronsteter of TSN):

“I hear that the UFC are working on making a show in San Francisco in August. Maybe in August everything is finished… I hear they’re going to make a show in Abu Dhabi in September…” –@TeamKhabib to @WillHarrisAOAF on Instagram regarding possibilities for after Ramadan.

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) April 2, 2020

“I hear that the UFC are working on making a show in San Francisco in August,” Nurmagomedov said. “Maybe in August everything is finished… I hear they’re going to make a show in Abu Dhabi in September…”

During the same Instagram Live session, Nurmagomedov opened up on the reason he will not be fighting Tony Ferguson on the 18th. As we already know, he views it as too difficult and too dangerous to commit to a fight that doesn’t even have an official location during this global crisis.

“I want to fight,” Nurmagomedov said. “But the UFC has no location. Europe, US, Asia… they never send location. So how is this to happen? Fly to where? This is what happened. No location.

“All gate is closed,” Nurmagomedov added, touching on the extreme difficulty of international travel. “US gate. Russian gate. Everyone is told to stay home for quarantine. The number one thing that drive me crazy about this is people say I pull out. How do I pull out when there is no gate? No location? This I don’t understand.”

Do you think Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will finally fight later this year?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 4/2/2020.