Home

UFC

Tony Ferguson Knee Injury: Here’s How He Ended Up Pulling Out of the Khabib Nurmagomedov Fight at UFC 223

Published 05/02/2021, 11:16 AM EDT

Follow Us

UFC lightweight veteran Tony Ferguson is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. In a professional career spanning one and half decades, he has gone toe to toe with some of the finest of all time. However, just like any great fighter, he too has suffered injuries that have caused him some precious career moments.

Tony Ferguson’s Knee Injury

Back in 2018, he was on a roll with 10 consecutive victories and was the interim lightweight champion. He got a matchup with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 for the lightweight championship.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

This wasn’t the first time they were scheduled to face each other; this was their fourth time and like all other meetings, this too was canceled at the last moment. Ferguson reportedly tore his fibular collateral ligament while walking on the set for a pre-fight media obligation and was forced to withdraw from the event.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest UFC stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

Later, ‘El Cucuy’ too took to Twitter and had shown his disappointment for not being able to fight and apologized to his fans, coaches, and Khabib alike. He also explained the need for the surgery.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

After Ferguson was ruled out, Max Holloway was asked to step in within a week’s notice. But on weigh-in day, he was deemed medically unfit to compete. After all the hustle, finally, Al laquinta stepped in, but ‘The Eagle’ defeated him to capture the gold.

Dana White about the injury

Dana White, while giving an interview to Brett Okamoto from ESPN, broke out the news prior to UFC 223. Okamoto later took to Twitter and explained what had happened. “I’m told the injury to Tony Ferguson was literally caused by a trip. The freak accident of all freak accidents. He was walking, saw someone he wasn’t expecting to see, veered sharply to say hello and tripped,” he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Watch this story: Conor McGregor Beefs With Nate Diaz, Dustin Poirier, Joe Rogan & Tony Ferguson On The Same Day

Now, Tony Ferguson gets ready to face UFC rising star Paddy Pimblett. Do you think he will register his first win after 4 years? Let us know in the comments below.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Akshyay Srichandan Mahapatra

552Articles

One take at a time

Akshyay Mahapatra is a UFC author for EssentiallySports. He wished to combine his passion for the UFC (that he has been following since 2008) as well as his love for writing. This motivated him to enter the world of combat sports journalism.
Show More>