When it comes to the UFC’s lightweight division, Team Khabib has ruled the roost. Islam Makhachev has been the kingpin of the division since he defeated Charles Oliveira to claim the throne at UFC 280. Since then, he has managed to successfully defend his title on three occasions. He pulled off the title retention twice in 2023, and in 2024, he pulled it off again by defeating Dustin Poirier via a D’arce choke.

Now, Makhachev is all set to defend it once again, this time against Arman Tsarukyan. But seeing that he has been on the top for so long, this has led many to question whether the lightweight division is as great as it was in the past. And now, Khabib Nurmagomedov has secretly answered the question by sharing a post that indirectly celebrated the dominance of his archrival, Conor McGregor.

ESPN MMA recently uploaded a picture online that showed the 2017 lightweight rankings of the biggest MMA promotion in the world. Atop the list at the number one spot were then-lightweight champion Conor McGregor and then interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson.

Right below them on the second spot was none other than ‘The Eagle,’ Khabib Nurmagomedov. Wanting to show his fans that he has always been a dominant fighter, Nurmagomedov then shared the post on his Instagram story.

The post surely was a blast from the past that revealed how amazing the early days of the UFC were. All the fighters who ruled the Octagon have now retired while Conor McGregor was still away from his legal troubles. This was the time when the infamous Irishman was the loudmouth champion who had only one ambition in life: to stay at the top of the Octagon. However, the one who went through the biggest change was Tony Ferguson. So much so that once fans saw the post, they had some interesting comments to share.

Fans get nostalgic about ‘Prime’ Tony Ferguson

Prime Tony Ferguson was definitely a different breed. ‘El Cucuy’ was a force of nature that fight fans had never seen before. The 25-11-0 fighter was the most dominant on the roster, and going on a long winning streak was as common as throwing punches for the lightweight star. However, once he suffered a brutal loss against Justin Gaethje at UFC 249, he was never the same again. So when the post by ESPN MMA came to light, fight fans couldn’t help but reminisce about the days when ‘El Cucuy’ was the number one fighter on the roster. Taking to the comments, they wrote, “Oh, prime Tony… Where do I even begin?” and “Dad, tell us about prime Tony Ferguson.”

Another fan cursed the electrical cord on which Tony Ferguson tripped and injured himself ahead of his fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov. The man who barely felt pain was never the same after the injury, leading him to go on an eight-fight losing streak that is still continuing. So, it is no wonder that this fight fan was angry at the freak incident. “Back when Justin was undefeated and Tony didn’t trip over the cord yet. F— that wire.”

Speaking of his fight against Khabib, many fans in the comments shared that they wanted the fight to take place. However, Tony Ferguson truly fell off the top of the lightweight division with continuous losses, and before he could ever climb again to get a fight, Khabib Nurmagomedov hung up his gloves after the death of his father. Sharing their disbelief at never seeing the two legends fight, the users wrote, “To this day I still can’t believe we didn’t see prime Tony vs. prime Khabib,” and “I’m not saying Tony would’ve won, but I think we all needed to see 2016 Khabib vs. Tony.”

The post shared by Nurmagomedov also had other fighters on the list, such as #3 ranked Edson Barboza, #4 ranked Eddie Alvarez, and #5 ranked Justin Gaethje. This made fight fans realize how stacked the UFC lightweight roster once was and how great the times were. In the comments, they wrote, “That’s why it’s one of the most stacked divisions of modern times.” “Lightweight has always been the best/most stacked division,” and “The most stacked lightweight’s ever been.” Well, it surely looks like fans miss the old days of the promotion. But what do you think? Was the roster actually better than it is now? Let us know in the comments.