Eddie Bravo explains how Tony Ferguson can beat Khabib Nurmagomedov

Tony Ferguson is expected to get his long-awaited crack at UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov sometime in 2020 — perhaps as soon as March. Despite the fact that Nurmagomedov has never been defeated in MMA, Ferguson’s team is very confident the fight will go their way.

Eddie Bravo, who has helped Tony Ferguson hone his Brazilian jiu jitsu game over the years, believes they’ll probably defeat Nurmagomedov by submission. He suspects Ferguson’s aggression on the canvas will be the key to a submission win.

“With that caliber of fight, I don’t make predictions,” Bravo said. “But we are planning on beating him,” Bravo said on MO HOSANI 360. 

“[I] can’t give away too much, but the difference is, everybody [else] is running from Khabib on the ground,” he continued, explaining what sets Ferguson apart from Nurmagomedov’s previous foes. “They spend the whole time trying to get to the fence to get back up. Tony’s not going to do that. Tony’s going to attack. So it’s going to be a little different. He’s going to attack with submissions, and he’s going to attack with elbows. He’s not going to try to get back up. He’ll try to keep the fight standing and do some takedown defense and all that stuff…

Bravo went on to hint that the D’arce choke could be the maneuver Ferguson uses to finish Nurmagomedov on the mat. Ferguson, after all, has won multiple fights with this choke in the past.

“When you’re looking for D’arces all the time, it alters your game,” he said. “D’arcers, your approach them a little bit differently, it alters your game. Tony is that guy. Tony will hit those things from every angle. While Khabib is trying to take him down, he’s gotta watch out for all that s**t.”

Do you think Tony Ferguson could be the man to defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/17/2019.