Tony Ferguson, Fabricio Werdum get heated at UFC 216 media lunch, and gay slurs fly

What the hell was that all about today between Tony Ferguson and Fabricio Werdum?

During a UFC 216 media luncheon in Los Angeles, the two fighters conducted separate interviews across from each other but at the same table. As Ferguson talked on one end, Werdum began speaking with a reporter on the other end, though not that far away. That’s when things blew up.

“Hold on, I’m talking, brother,” Ferguson said to Werdum with his hand raised toward him.

What happened next was not pretty.

Werdum immediately fired back in Portuguese, telling Ferguson “f*ck you,” amongh other things, which prompted Ferguson to reply in Spanish, “When I’m talking, you need to shut your mouth.”

“Shut your mouth, you f*cking (gay slur),” Werdum responded. “Don’t talk to me like that, that’s not how it works.” Werdum continued in Spanish briefly before switching back to Portuguese, all the while calling Ferguson that gay slur several times as UFC public relations director Chris Costello stepped in to remove him.

What possibly could have made a lightweight snap at a heavyweight? Probably disdain (to some degree) by association since Werdum shares the same manager, Ali AbdelAziz, as Khabib Nurmagomedov, who we know Ferguson has dissed repeatedly since their UFC 209 bout earlier this year was canceled following a bad Nurmagomedov weight-cut.

As for Werdum’s profuse use of that gay slur, that was just downright ugly. Ferguson uttered it once, as well. Not cool. None of this.

Check out the heated exchange above.

Ferguson (23-3 MMA, 13-1 UFC) faces Kevin Lee (16-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) for the interim lightweight title in the UFC 216 headliner, which takes place Oct. 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Werdum (21-7-1 MMA, 9-4 UFC), meanwhile, takes on Derrick Lewis (18-5 MMA, 9-3 UFC) on the pay-per-view main card.

For more on UFC 216, visit the UFC Rumors section of the site.

The Blue Corner is MMAjunkie‘s official blog and is edited by Mike Bohn.