According to Tony Ferguson, his decision to pull out of this month’s UFC on FOX 19 headliner might’ve just saved his life.
On Tuesday Ferguson (20-3 MMA, 10-1 UFC) confirmed he was forced to withdrawal from his April 16 bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov (22-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) due to “fluid” and “blood” in his lungs.
Nurmagomedov now awaits a new opponent for the event, which airs on FOX from Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., though he could also be moved to another card.
In a subsequent social-media post, Ferguson, who’s No. 3 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings, said his doctor told him “any more trauma could be terminal,” which forced him out of the highly anticipated and likely title-eliminator with No. 2 Nurmagomedov (via Instagram):
Ferguson suggested he needs just a few weeks to heal up, and though “El Cucuy” took a shot at his would-be opponent for his past fight cancellations, Nurmagomedov simply offered words of support (via Twitter):
With the UFC’s stacked spring/summer schedule slowly showing cracks, the loss of Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov is an especially crushing one since it would’ve had an immediate impact on the lightweight title picture. Ferguson, who won “The Ultimate Fighter 13” in 2011, is riding a seven-fight winning streak (with five stoppages) and has recently defeated the likes of Edson Barboza, Josh Thomson and Gleison Tibau.
For more on UFC on FOX 19, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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