'Can't wait to snap you down to your knees': Tony Ferguson pledges to renew Khabib rivalry

Tony Ferguson, who is in the midst of an 11-fight win streak in the UFC lightweight division, says he has some special techniques picked out to defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov if and when their ill-fated match-up ever takes place.

Between them Nurmagomedov and Ferguson have won 22 consecutive fights in the UFC's 155lb weight class, a record of sustained excellence which makes it a no-brainer to match the two lightweight standouts up with each other.

On each occasion - four and counting - that the UFC's matchmakers have attempted to make the fight a reality, some manner of catastrophe has conspired to rule it out. 

Both fighters have withdrawn from scheduled bouts with each other due to injury. Khabib pulled out from another on the fight's eve after a severe reaction to his weight cut meant he was rushed to a Las Vegas hospital. 

The fight, it seems, is cursed but that certainly hasn't stopped Ferguson in campaigning for a bout with the world's number one 155lb fighter.

Ferguson has been open in recent months about struggles with his mental health, which at one stage threatened to derail his career, which has prompted several fans and fighters to issue him with messages of support - including one from Khabib.

"I can only imagine how hard it is for him. Especially since it's about his family. Again, I didn't follow it closely, I just read some things on the internet," Nurmagomedov said, as reported by RT Sport on Friday.

Ferguson's response? It was straight to the point.

The American fighter also responded to RT Sport's reporting on Friday, saying to a fan who implied that Ferguson would be past his prime if and when the eventual match with Khabib becomes a reality.

"Not even close to my prime, casual," Ferguson wrote. "They way I see it, we're just getting started."

And in a separate, equally bullish tweet, this time responding to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, the 35-year-old Ferguson took aim at former UFC ‘champ champ’ Conor McGregor, branding both him and Nurmagomedov “false idols.”  

Ferguson's immediate status in the UFC's 155lb fold appears unclear. His social media accounts show that he is training, as well as detailing visits with mental health professionals and thanking fans for their outpouring of support.

However, any fight with Nurmagomedov looks an impossibility in the short term. The Russian has recently confirmed that he expects to fight in Abu Dhabi in September, likely to be against the winner of next weekend's interim lightweight title tilt between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier.

After that, though? Maybe it is time to tempt fate again and make a fifth attempt to pair the two most in-form lightweight fighters on the planet.