Tony Ferguson Calls Khabib Nurmagomedov His “Brother in Arms” Ahead of UFC 209 Bout

Tony Ferguson spoke with MMAjunkie ahead of his fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 209. Some highlights are below:

On if there will be a possible rematch: “(Expletive) no (there won’t ever be a rematch). Not after I finish him the way I’m going to finish him. It’s different. I’m going to slice and dice him. With the new rules as far as the UFC goes, he’s got something else coming for him. I’m keeping these (elbows) sharp like medal graters. There’s sparks flying, baby.”

On his war of words with Nurmagomedov: “You can love somebody without liking them. I love Khabib, man. He’s my brother in arms. We’re all here, we’re all for one. I got peace with him, but inside there we got beef. We got to squash this (expletive). I’m tired of him, man. He’s a bully, and I’m going to shut him up, but I got respect for him, his father and his whole camp.”

On Conor McGregor’s time off: “I gave Conor pass – I’ll keep reiterating that – he got a pass from me. I told him, ‘Go spend some of that money, do what you’re going to do, enjoy that kid because, trust me, I work my ass off for this. I don’t talk the talk, I walk the (expetive) walk.’ So as far as Conor goes and the belt, that dude is so far out there that I hope he brings his head back to the real fight where we’re at. So this belt, I consider it the real belt regardless of if it’s interim or not. If I can hold it, and I can feel it and it’s shiny as (expletive), it’s real enough for me.”