Khabib Nurmagomedov predicted Tony Ferguson was “finished” prior to Oliveira loss: Watch

After Charles Oliveira defeated Tony Ferguson at UFC 256, an old video went viral, where Khabib Nurmagomedov can be seen saying that his arch-rival Tony Ferguson was "finished" after his defeat to Justin Gaethje back in May. El Cucuy fought Gaethje in the main event of UFC 249 after a bout with Nurmagomedov was cancelled. Ferguson dominated the initial rounds but ended up losing via TKO in the fifth round.

This led to a title bout between The Highlight and The Russian at UFC 254. Gaethje was expected to give Nurmagomedov his toughest challenge, but The Eagle came out on top by submission in the second round. After the bout, Nurmagomedov retired from the sport, shocking everyone in the process. UFC later put the 29-0 fighter at the top of their pound-for-pound rankings, with Dana White calling him the GOAT.

Also Read l Tony Ferguson vs Charles Oliveira: Tony stuns fans after refusing to submit to armbar

Did Khabib Nurmagomedov predict Tony Ferguson's future?

In the lead up to UFC 254, Khabib Nurmagomedov sat down with ESPN, where he predicted Tony Ferguson’s future. The Eagle said that Ferguson would suffer another defeat because it's hard for someone to recover from a major loss. “Tony Ferguson’s time is finished. How he gonna come back? Someone gonna beat him again, I believe, because when you take damage like this you never gonna be same, never ever, even if you’re Tony Ferguson,” he added.

*Skip to 2:56 to see Khabib talk about Tony Ferguson

Also Read l UFC rankings: Khabib dethrones Jones to become No 1 pound-for-pound fighter

UFC 256: Tony Ferguson vs Charles Oliveira

El Cucuy looked a shadow of his former self in the co-main event of UFC 256. Charles Oliveira dominated the bout from the start and Tony Ferguson had no answer for his acclaimed groundwork. In the end, The Brazilian took the unanimous decision (30–26, 30–26, 30–26) victory, putting an end to lingering hopes of a fight between the former interim champion and Nurmagomedov

Also Read l UFC rankings: Jones reacts to Khabib becoming top P4P fighter

During the post-fight interview, Oliveira called for a title shot but claimed that the current lightweight champion won’t return for another bout. Conor McGregor is set to face Dustin Poirier in a highly anticipated rematch at UFC 257 on January 23. And it looks like the winner of that match could fight Oliveira for the vacant title. However, reports also claim that Oliveira would have to defeat either Justin Gaethje or Michael Chandler to get a shot at the title.

Also Read l Tony Ferguson picks Jon Jones over Khabib Nurmagomedov in UFC GOAT debate

Image Source: AP, UFC/ Instagram