Let’s Get Ready To Rumble: Ferguson vs. Khabib for UFC 223
Mixed Martial Arts and the Ultimate Fighting Championship has grown from a fad to a legitimately big business, worldwide sporting event over the years.
On Saturday, April 7, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will take center stage as the UFC 223 bout will pit MMA fighters Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov against one another for a shot at the lightweight division crown, which technically belongs to Conor Mcgregor, even with Ferguson holding the interim title (granted, it’s confusing).
Having hosted more than 1,000 major events since its official opening in September of 2012, the Barclays Center, located in Brooklyn, New York, is an ideal venue for some of sports biggest spectacles, making it a great arena for this championship tilt.
Barring a knockout, this main event will go for five rounds for the title, and both contenders have a lot to prove.
Despite having been booked to fight three previous times, Ferguson and Nurmagomedov have never squared off in the Octagon, so the online UFC odds for the next fight have Nurmagomedov as a favorite and the total rounds at 3 and half.
Varying issues and circumstances prevented previously scheduled bouts in 2015, 2016, and 2017, but the match has finally gotten the green light that UFC fans have long awaited.
Though Tony Ferguson currently lays claim to the interim title lightweight title, he’ll have his work cut out for him on April 7. The man standing in the way has been nothing short of a buzz saw personified in his professional, which is umblemished.
That’s right, Khabib Nurmagomedov is unfeated through twenty-five fights as a pro, which includes a perfect record as a UFC fighter at 9-0, with his convincing win over Edson Barboza at UFC 219 securing his chance to fight for the lightweight title.
But Tony Ferguson is no slouch, boasting professional MMA record 23-3 and an impressive 13-1 record in the UFC himself.
But Ferguson’s confidence remains unwavering, and if his unorthodox training methods are any indication, he will be ready for anything that Khabib throws at him. It doesn’t get any more out there in terms of training than forcefully and repeatedly kicking a steel pipe, but that is exactly what the interim title holder is shown doing on video per the official UFC Facebook page. Though traditionally relying upon vicious elbow attacks to decimate opponents, it’s safe to say that none of would want to be a shinbone that meets a Ferguson foot anytime soon.
With a title and ten fight winning streak on the line, it’s clear the latter fighter is pulling out all of the stops in preparation. Considered the clear underdog despite being the much more active fighter than Normagomedov, Tony Ferguson, it’s a good thing he’s putting in the extra work, as the expert consensus seems to suggest that Khabib will win.
It seems to the case that the result of this primetime scrap will officially decide the lightweight title, and that infamous MMA megastar, Connor Mcgregor, will have his title stripped by the Ultimate Fighting Championship as a result.
This is undisputedly one of the most anticipated and high-stakes fights of the year, and will air on pay-per-view on April 7, live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
