Khabib Nurmagomedov 'Predicted' Tony Ferguson Was 'Finished' After Justin Gaethje Defeat

Former UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov claimed that fierce rival Tony Ferguson was "finished" after his defeat to Justin Gaethje.

UFC attempted to book for an astonishing fifth time a super-fight between Khabib and Ferguson for UFC 249 in April.

However, the mega-clash fell through once again after the 32-year-old Russian star was unable to leave his homeland due to flight restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic.

UFC instead booked Ferguson against Gaethje for the interim lightweight title at UFC 249 in May.

Gaethje, 32, stunned the MMA world by ending Ferguson's 12-fight winning streak with a sensational fifth-round TKO victory in Jacksonville, Florida.

Ferguson, 36, made his UFC return on Saturday and suffered a unanimous decision victory against Charles Oliveira at UFC 256 in Las Vegas.

Speaking to ESPN in October, Khabib insisted that the punishment Ferguson took in the Gaethje fight meant that 'El Cucuy' would 'never be the same again.'

The 'Eagle' explained: "Nobody can be same long time -- no Tony Ferguson, no Khabib, nobody.

"And one day somebody gonna beat you or something gonna happen. God don't give to nobody free power, reaction, mental, everything in one level always. One day it's gonna go down.

"And his day come, it was in May. Tony Ferguson's time is finished. How he gonna come back?

"Someone gonna beat him again, I believe, because when you take damage like this you never gonna be same, never ever, even if you're Tony Ferguson."

While covering up his face, Khabib added: "He take too much damage. You see how he give up at end of the fight, he go like this."

MMA fans wasted no time in flocking to Twitter in the wake of Ferguson's recent defeat to 'prove' that Khabib was right about his statement.