Tony Ferguson responds after longtime rival Khabib Nurmagomedov urges him to retire from MMA

Tony Ferguson has responded after his longtime rival Khabib Nurmagomedov urged him to retire from mixed martial arts.

It was just last week that ‘The Eagle’ shared his belief that the only reason ‘El Cucuy’ continues to fight is because he needs the money. In addition, Nurmagomedov suggested that Ferguson’s time had clearly passed and there is no way of him getting it back.

“(Tony Ferguson) his is time is up, and there’s no way to get it back,” Nurmagomedov said in an interview with UFC Russia (h/t MMAJunkie). “Not Khabib, not Tony, nobody. We had our time, and it passed. He continues to fight. He needs money. You have to pay your bills in the U.S., and I’m sure that since he’s a Californian, I know all the Californian fighters – everything he earned, take half of that. I think he keeps fighting for money to pay bills, taxes. He has a family. I think he has two kids. I don’t blame him, but you can’t get back time. When your time goes away it doesn’t ask your name.”

Ferguson and Nurmagomedov of course have a long-standing rivalry, as the pair of lightweight standouts were previously booked to fight on a handful of occasions. Unfortunately for fight fans, none of those booking ever came to fruition thanks to injuries, botched weight cuts, freak injuries, and the global pandemic.

Tony Ferguson, who has been lobbying for a potential TUF coaching gig opposite Khabib, recently took to Twitter where he fired back at ‘The Eagle’ for his recent comments.

https://twitter.com/TonyFergusonXT/status/1582507807466610688

“Oh Fathead, When Will You Ever Grow A Pair of Balls & Stop Writing Checks Your Body Can’t Cash 💯 Pops Would Be Pissed If He Knew How Much Of A Turd Ya Turned Into 📉 What A Eunic 🫵😂 Does This Dude Even Tiramisu 🤷‍♂️- Champ ⚔️🕶 -CSO- 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽”

Tony Ferguson (25-8 MMA) is currently in the midst of a five-fight losing skid, having dropped a submission loss to Nate Diaz in his most recent effort at UFC 279.

Do you think Ferguson should hang up the gloves as Nurmagomedov suggests? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!