A week before UFC 223, it looked like the MMA world was finally going to get the Khabib Nurmagomedov-Tony Ferguson fight that had fallen through numerous times before. Then, just days before the event, Ferguson tore the LCL in his left knee in a freak accident during media obligations, removing him from the card and side-tracking the Nurmagomedov fight yet again.
In Ferguson’s place, Al Iaquinta stepped up to challenge Nurmagomedov for the vacant lightweight title, losing a lopsided decision over the course of five rounds. But even though Iaquinta was dominated, Ferguson says the fight still proved what he’s been saying all along, that Nurmagomedov isn’t that good.