Khabib Nurmagomedov training in empty gym ahead of UFC 249 fight
Khabib Nurmagomedov is training by himself ahead of his UFC 249 fight against Tony Ferguson on April 18.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and gyms closing, Nurmagomedov is the only one allowed in at AKA to prepare him for his bout with Tony Ferguson.
“Just Khabib. That’s it. Nobody else is allowed. No one is coming. Just Khabib,” Javier Mendez said to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi. “We’ve gotta keep it safe for him.”
Although no one truly knows if the fight will happen, Mendez makes it clear they are still training for a title defense on April 18. And, given the uncertainty of the event even taking place, they can’t be certain the opponent will be Ferguson.
“Khabib expects to fight somebody if something happens to Tony, he expects to fight somebody. One top guy. Whatever. And then he’ll go back after Tony. That’s the way he looks at it,” he said. “He’s expecting to fight. It’s not like, ‘Tony is out; forget it I’m not fighting.’ He’s training to fight somebody. It’s not like he has it in for Tony. He doesn’t have it in for Tony. [Ferguson is] a top guy. He’s the very best right now that he could face. So that’s why [Khabib] wants to face him.”
Where the fight will take place is unknown at this time. But, Javier Mendez is certain Dana White will make the Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson will happen on April 18 as scheduled.
“I don’t know. I know Dana will do everything in his power to make it happen, but I don’t know if he will make it happen. I can’t say for sure he will. I’m not sure if they can pull it off, because [White] can’t control governments. I want it to happen, obviously. Nobody gets paid if nobody goes to work.”
