UFC’s Conor McGregor accuses rival Khabib Nurmagomedov of ‘chickening out’ of title defence against Tony Ferguson

Dagestani lightweight champ is in quarantine in Russia and said he will not make the 18 April bout

Former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor has accused Khabib Nurmagomedov of “chickening out” of his scheduled title defence against Tony Ferguson.

Reigning lightweight champion Nurmagomedov, who defeated McGregor via fourth-round submission in 2018 to retain his title, has been scheduled to face Ferguson on five occasions now.

All four previous efforts to make the bout – the most anticipated in MMA history – fell through, and the clash seems all but certain to be lost for a fifth time, with Nurmagomedov saying he cannot compete on 18 April at UFC 249 due to being quarantined in Russia amid the coronavirus lockdown.

Rival McGregor, despite having led calls for a stricter lockdown in Ireland, took to Twitter to call out Nurmagomedov for ducking Ferguson.

“The fact of this matter is, both Tony and Khabib [were] engaged in a game of chicken here towards the fight bell. With Khabib chickening out first,” McGregor wrote.

“Making it 3-2 in pullouts in Tony’s favour.

“Khab scurried out of the U.S to home, and amid the crisis. Very high risk. Congrats Tony.”

McGregor was referencing the fact that both competitors have been responsible for the failed attempts to share the Octagon over the last five years, with poor weight cuts and last-minute injuries denying fans the tantalising contest on repeated occasions.

Numerous UFC events have been cancelled or postponed amid the Covid-19 pandemic, but the promotion’s president, Dana White, has been adamant that he can bring Nurmagomedov and Ferguson together.

However, it has been reported that alternative opponents have been offered to Ferguson since Nurmagomedov said he could not make the fight.

Ferguson has also called for Nurmagomedov to be stripped of his title for refusing to compete.