On Sunday night, after taking a controversial submission win over Michael Chiesa in the main event of UFC Fight Night Oklahoma City, Kevin Lee called out No. 1-ranked lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov. There’s just one problem with that, Nurmagomedov only has eyes for one man: the eternally unattainable Tony Ferguson.

In a recent interview with RT Sport, Nurmagomedov made it clear that he plans to return in the fall and when he does, the only fight he is interested in is the interim title bout against Ferguson that fell through at UFC 209.

“I’m going through rehabilitation. I can’t give you a certain date but it’s going to be this fall. I’ll take this summer to rehabilitate and in the fall, I’ll start my preparation and at the end of the fall, I want to have a fight. We’ll go for the same fight with Ferguson. I have no interest in any other fight. I have to finish my business with Tony Ferguson.”

The fight between Ferguson and Nurmagomedov appears to be snakebitten. The two have been scheduled to face each other on three separate occasions yet the fight has failed to materialize every time due to injury withdrawals. The last time occurred just days before UFC 209 when Nurmagomedov was hospitalized during his weight cut.

Ferguson however, is not so quick to reschedule the fight with Nurmagomedov. In a video from the Fox Sports analyst booth, the No. 2-ranked lightweight teased Nurmagomedov and said he needed to “beg” for that fight to be remade.

“Team Khabib - I’m sorry, Team Tiramisu, this message is for you. You checked yourself into rehab [but] what you need to do is find Jenny Craig. You need a dietician, my friend. You say we have unfinished business. I showed up, I made weight, you decided to chicken out, my friend.

“Actually, you’re not my friend. I don’t like you at all. You don’t even come close to it. You and your fuzzy hat. But I can’t wait to shut that hype train down so maybe if you’re lucky and you beg me enough I might give you that one chance to get that belt against numero uno right here. Until then, have fun making that weight cut. . .

“Good luck trying to get this fight. So like I said, if you want to beg me for that fight, maybe somewhere along the lines of UFC 300, if you do make that weight, maybe you’ll show up and you’ll actually make the weight and we’ll have a fight and maybe the fans can see you get that one loss on your record.”

But though he says Nurmagomedov needs to beg, options appear limited for Ferguson. With Nurmagomedov out of action while observing Ramadan, Ferguson has been looking for a fight with Nate Diaz but Diaz hasn’t shown much interest in the bout and he’s already either beaten the rest of the upper echelon of the rankings or they are indisposed. And when Kevin Lee, who got a win over the sixth-ranked Chiesa, made overtures about fighting Ferguson last night Ferguson said Lee’s resume still didn’t meet his “standards” for a fight.

Ultimately, the most likely scenario still appears to be an interim lightweight title fight between the two guys who have been circling each other for over a year and who still seem to really hate each other.

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MUST-READ STORIES

Bellator. Bellator NYC took place Saturday and here are the results.

UFC OKC. UFC Fight Night OKC took place on Sunday and here are the results.

Fight. Chael Sonnen says he and Rory MacDonald are destined to fight.

Please no. Fedor Emelianenko plans to fight on despite KO loss to Matt Mitrione.

PPV. Scott Coker expects to do another Bellator PPV early next year.

Response. Wanderlei Silva responds to his loss to Chael Sonnen.

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VIDEO STEW

Kevin Lee and T-Ferg going at it. 10-8 round Lee.

Chiesa wants Yamasaki out.

This guy does incredible promo work.

TTTHS.

LFA highlights including Colbey Northcutt’s loss.

Freddie Roach calling Conor a four-round fighter which isn’t all the way untrue.

See a young James Gallagher being molded by Conor.

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LISTEN UP

6th Round. Bellator NYC gets the immediate reaction from BE.

The MMA Circus. I co-host and there’s a Douglas Lima interview to listen to.

Luke Thomas Show. Luke breaks down the Bellator NYC show which he attended.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

The man called it.

Oh, just the president of a multi-billion dollar company acting like a 6-year-old.

Hero.

Brilliant.

Very true.

Your new Bellator champ got class.

And so does the WW champ.

And Pitbull is ready for the young Irish pup.

Brilliant.

When are we gonna have a serious conversation about Dillon Danis going all Black Swan on McGregor?

Speaking of, Conor did something fantastic.

This should answer all your McGregor-Mayweather questions.

Speaking of which, T-Wood made friends.

If you were paying attention, yesterday was the day that internet hardo was supposed to show up and fight Cody Garbrandt but it appears he chickened out. Check Zombie Prophet’s Tweets for the full story.

She’s the closest thing we have to a secret agent. She can shoot, fight, and dance.

What the hell?

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Ben Henderson (24-7) vs. Patricky Freire (17-8); Bellator 183, September 23.

Roy Nelson (22-14) vs. Javy Ayala (10-5); Bellator 183, September 23.

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TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

1976: Muhammad Ali fought Antonio Inoki in a mixed rules fight that is seen by many as the forebearer of MMA and indirectly led to the creation of Pancrase.

2005: Pride FC: Critical Countdown took place with Wanderlei Silva, Ricardo Arona, Alistair Overeem, and Mauricio Rua all picking up wins to secure their spots in the semifinals of the Pride 2005 middleweight grand prix. This was part of Shogun’s unbelievable run in 2005 that saw him defeat Quinton Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Noguiera, Overeem, and Arona on his way to the title.

2010: The king fell. Fedor Emelianenko’s 10 year reign of dominance came to an end with a single tap as Fabricio Werdum submitted him with a triangle armbar at Strikeforce /M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum.

2011: Cheick Kongo scored the comeback of the year, knocking out Pat Barry while on the proverbial ropes at UFC on Versus 4.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

That was a long weekend of fights, and honestly, pretty lackluster. Bellator can’t really be happy with how that card turned out and the UFC event was very blaise only to be capped off by Mario Yamasaki screwing up. Chiesa was about to go out but now he can appeal it and should get the NC, meaning Yamasaki robbed Lee of the biggest win of his career. Almost as crap a situation as the Kish-Herrig affair (do you see what I did there?).

Also, real bad weekend to be an MMA hyper-prospect. Colbey Northcutt and Aaron Pico getting done up proper. Still, long way to go and both could end up being excellent fighters. Everyone sucks at fighting at first.

Anyway, hope y’all enjoyed the weekend. Jon Fitch is fighting this weekend but otherwise, nothing this week so rest up and enjoy it. Take it easy y’all and Conor bless.

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