Tony Ferguson has his differences with Khabib Nurmagomedov, but they were brushed aside for a show of respect after the death of the UFC lightweight champion’s father on Friday.
Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who has also been a Khabib trainer since he was a child, died of COVID-19-related complications after weeks of being ill. He was 57 years old.
While Ferguson and Khabib have exchanged a few heated words over the years, that didn’t stop Ferguson from offering his “most sincere condolences” to his main rival on Twitter.
My deepest condolences to you and your family @TeamKhabib Keep your spirits up friend 💪🕶 Respect your father Abdulmanap🥇Nurmagomedov 🙏🦁 He will be in the front row when we hope to compete someday 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽
In April Nurmagomedov was initially admitted to the hospital with symptoms of pneumonia and was subsequently transferred to a military hospital after his condition worsened. While there, he tested positive for COVID-19 and then had a heart attack before undergoing emergency bypass surgery. During his time in the hospital, he was twice put into a medically induced coma while trying to recover from surgery while fighting the new coronavirus.
Ferguson and Khabib have a long history of almost fighting. On five different occasions they have reserved each other, but the combat has been reduced each time. Most recently, they were ready to fight on April 18 at UFC 249, but Khabib was forced to leave due to travel restrictions in his native Dagestan due to the worldwide outbreak of coronavirus.
Ferguson met Justin Gaethje at a UFC 249 rescheduled on May 9 in Jacksonville, Florida, where he lost his interim title fight by TKO in the fifth round.
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