The word on the street – and by “word on the street” we mean straight from the horse’s mouth – is that Khabib Nurmagomedov accepted an offer to fight Tony Ferguson at next month’s UFC 219 pay-per-view, but it’s not happening because the interim lightweight champion declined.

To be clear I was offered to fight @TonyFergusonXT on December 30th and I accepted the fight but my focus is barboza. @danawhite @ufc

Chalk it up as another failed attempt for the UFC to make Ferguson (23-3 MMA, 13-1 UFC) vs. Nurmagomedov a reality. They’ve been booked three times before but still haven’t fought, most recently their UFC 209 co-headliner falling apart at the last minute because of Nurmagomedov’s failed weight cut.

We’ve written in this space before that Ferguson accepting the fight would’ve made zero sense because of that recent history and also because risking a potential “money fight” to unify the title with champ Conor McGregor just would not have been smart.

Ever since Nurmagomedov’s withdrawal from UFC 209 earlier this year, there’s been widespread negative opinion on his health, which Ferguson has talked about before. But as a showdown with fellow contender Edson Barboza looms Dec. 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nurmagomedov – apparently feeling good about his health – took aim at his critics on Twitter.

they talk about me when im injured, but I don’t hear them when im healthy, Where are they? @ufc

Ferguson, as you might expect, did not let this tweet go without a retort.

.Listen Ya Fragile Fatass, The Last Time We Tried To Fight That Hat Of Yours Collected Cobwebs. How ‘Bout Ya Take A Number… Make Weight, Show Up & Shut Up. Who’s Irrelevant Now? -Thee MF’n Champ #SnapDownCityBitch SnapJitsu#TeamTiramisu4L #Towel7 #JustSayNo

Who knows if Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov will ever happen? Ferguson obviously has bigger fish to fry at the moment. But if they never fight each other, it’ll be a real shame, won’t it?

For more on UFC 219, visit the UFC Rumors section of the site.

The Blue Corner is MMAjunkie‘s official blog and is edited by Mike Bohn.

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