Tony Ferguson on Conor McGregor: ‘That poor bastard has never defended even one belt in his entire life’

Tony Ferguson, the #2 UFC ranked lightweight is set to take on the #1 UFC ranked lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov for the interim UFC lightweight title on March 4 at UFC 209 in the co-main event of the evening.

Ferguson is looking to claim the interim title for his shot at the undisputed UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor, who has stated he will be taking time off for the birth of his first child, which is due in May.

However, even with a win, Ferguson does not seem all that confident that McGregor will even make a lightweight title defense as he points out that the Irishman has never defended any of the titles he has won in his professional MMA career.

McGregor held both the featherweight and lightweight titles simultaneously during his run in the Cage Warriors promotion but never made a defense of either title as he vacated the belts when he signed with the UFC. McGregor went on his rise in the UFC where he was able to secure the UFC featherweight title and became the first fighter in history to be a simultaneous two-division UFC champion when he won the lightweight title at UFC 205. However, his time as the double champ was short-lived as he was forced to relinquish the featherweight belt a couple weeks after winning the lightweight title.

“Who knows if ‘McNuggets’ is going to come in there and defend his belt. That poor bastard has never defended even one belt in his entire life,” Ferguson told MMAjunkie Radio (transcribed by MMA Junkie). “If he’s trying to box – I will go toe-to-toe with that mother(expletive), and I will knock him out. That dude is going to try to go with (Floyd) Mayweather, the Olympic boxer? It’s OK, son. It’s a completely different sport. Come back over here, 155-pound division and defend your belt if you’re really man enough.”

Do you think Conor McGregor will defend his lightweight title and take on the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment!

This article first appeared on 1/23/2017.