UFC 209: Tony Ferguson plans to make ‘bully’ Khabib Nurmagomedov ‘quit’

A lightweight fight between top contenders Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson has been a long time in the making.

‘El Cucuy’ and ‘The Eagle’ were originally set to collide in 2015, but a series of injury complications saw both men head in different career trajectories.

Ferguson, 32, extended his win streak to nine while Nurmagomedov, 28, battled with injuries but came back strong with back-to-back wins in 2016.

As fate would have it, both men will clash for the interim lightweight title at UFC 209, with the winner expected to face official champion Conor McGregor in the fall.

Ferguson, who battered ex-champ Rafael dos Anjos at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale last year, believes his opponent needs to be brought down a peg or two and plans to make him ‘quit’ on March 4.

“I want to make him quit,” Ferguson told John Morgan of MMA Junkie at a recent media scrum in Las Vegas. “I want to push and grind him so hard that I have to look at him and tell him, ‘Are you done? Have you had enough? Because I’m tired.'”

Nurmagomedov is known to break his opponents in the Octagon and the Dagestani native was even heard telling Johnson to ‘give up’ during their bout at UFC 205. The undefeated fighter submitted ‘The Menace’ with a kimura in the third round.

Ferguson thinks his behavior reflects that of a bully and says that he’ll be standing up to all those who have been bullied in the past.

“He needs to be brought down, man,” Ferguson said. “And I’m the guy he’s trying to bully, and I’m standing up for all those dudes out there. All you guys out there that ever got bullied, I’m the guy that’s going to help you guys. We’re going to take this bully out.”

The UFC 209 pay-per-view takes place on March 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will feature Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson in co-main event.