Khabib Nurmagomedov kicks Tony Ferguson’s belt off stage in heated exchange ahead of April fight

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Khabib Nurmagomedov kicks Tony Ferguson’s belt off stage in heated exchange as rivals gear up for UFC 249 showdown in April

  • Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson had a fiery face off Friday night
  • The UFC rivals fight for Nurmagomedov’s lightweight title on April 18 
  • Undefeated Russian kicked Ferguson’s interim belt off stage in heated scenes 

By Jordan Seward For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Khabib Nurmagomedov kicked Tony Ferguson’s belt off the stage as the UFC rivals faced off in fiery scenes ahead of their April 18 clash in Brooklyn.

Lightweight champion Nurmagomedov defends his title against long-standing rival Ferguson next month at UFC 249.

And their disdain for each other was there for all to see as they went head-to-head at the press conference in Las Vegas on Friday evening.  

Things got heated as Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson faced off on Friday night

As the undefeated Russian approached the stage, Ferguson got into a fighting stance

As the undefeated Russian approached the stage, Ferguson got into a fighting stance 

Ferguson took up a fighting stance as Khabib approached him but the undefeated Russian appeared less than impressed and refused to get drawn into any stage theatrics. 

But when the American put his interim title down and urged Khabib to put his down as well tempers boiled over. 

After exchanging verbals, a visibly angered Khabib decided to dismissively boot Ferguson’s title off the stage much to the entertainment of the crowd in attendance.  

Ferguson lifted up his interim title and placed it on the floor and urged Khabib to do the same

Ferguson lifted up his interim title and placed it on the floor and urged Khabib to do the same

The Russian refused to and then dismissively booted Ferguson's UFC title off of the stage

The Russian refused to and then dismissively booted Ferguson’s UFC title off of the stage

Nurmagomedov and Ferguson’s rivalry dates back to more than four years ago when the pair were originally due to fight.

That bout never happened with Nurmagomedov pulling out due to injury.

Since then they have signed up to fight a further three times with Ferguson having to withdraw due to injury in 2016 and 2018, with Nurmagomedov suffering the same fate in 2017.

Nurmagomedov boasts a flawless record in the octagon with 28 wins and zero losses, while Ferguson has won 18 of his last 19 bouts for a 25-3 record. 

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