Tony Ferguson has been the constant contender in a stacked lightweight division. Even when others are in quarantine in their homes, “El Cucuy” is out there putting everything on the line. At the UFC 249 media day, Ferguson made sure that the world kept note of this when he roasted former champs Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.

Tony has mentioned already that he sees the fight with Justin Gaethje as his third title defense. He already won the interim title once when he defeated Kevin Lee in 2017. Since then he has defeated Anthony Pettis and Cowboy Cerrone. Ferguson counts these fights as his defense of the interim title.

In the record books, Ferguson was stripped of the belt after he failed to compete against Khabib at UFC 223. However, his only fault was that he tripped over a cable wire and blew his knee.

He made up for it by making a return to the Octagon in less than six months. All this induces a sense of belief in him that he should have never been stripped in the first place.

“My hardcore understanding is that I do have the belt. I shouldn’t have been stripped,” Tony said during UFC 249 virtual media day.

He went on to take a jibe at two of the biggest names in the UFC who have been former champs in the division. The former Ultimate Fighter questioned the willingness of both Khabib and Conor to fight in a situation like this.

Tony Ferguson calls the champ Khabib Nurmagomedov ‘a big meathead’

Before Coronavirus barged into the scene, Khabib and Tony were slated to settle their score once and for all at UFC 249 on April 18th. However, the pandemic induced an air of uncertainty that resulted in Khabib flying over to Russia.

“The Eagle” made it evident that the situation was too unpredictable. Hence, he preferred staying at home. That explanation, however, doesn’t seem to sit very well with Tony Ferguson.

“You’ve got a big meathead, f***ing fathead Khabib. He didn’t wanna fight. He ran away like a dog with his tail between his legs,” Tony added.

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The 36-year-old also didn’t let the former double champ, Conor McGregor, off the hook. “The Notorious One” is in his home country of Ireland. There were rumors of him stepping up at UFC 249 after Khabib pulled out. It turned out that the rumor had no real substance at all.

“The same thing with Conor, I’m gonna be next. I’m gonna be next is what everyone said. But where the f*** are they at. Obviously they are back home in quarantine and I’m here crushing quarantine,” Ferguson said.

Tony has made it clear that the UFC should appreciate his efforts to fight while most fighters have preferred not to. By doing so, “El Cucuy” would probably hope for a greater payday moving forward and a definitive title shot if he wins this Saturday.