Nurmagomedov (photo via YouTube)

By FCF Staff

Chael Sonnen admits he is somewhat biased towards Tony Ferguson, since the two have trained together in the past. But, the retired fighter is leaning towards Khabib Nurmagomedov as the winner, in the lightweight champ’s upcoming bout with “El Cucuy”.

Recently the UFC announced that Nurmagomedov will battle Ferguson on April 18th at a card in Brooklyn, New York. Sonnen recently spoke with Drake Riggs, and while doing so, he had this to say about Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson (quote via MMA Mania):

“It’s very hard to pick against Khabib with what you’ve seen,” Sonnen said. “And I must also share with you that I have a bias toward Tony because we are former teammates. I really do like Tony’s chances going into this, and I like them more and more as the fight gets closer. I think the Xs and Os are going to play out a bit. I’d like to hear who Tony is training with but also who’s doing the training. He went on Ariel Helwani’s show and made some comment about ‘we’re interviewing guy right now.’ Wait a minute. We don’t have a coach yet? Training partners? But you don’t know, Tony’s having fun out there half the time. I do think as that gets a little closer, it’ll get a little more exciting, but I think it’s very competitive, I can tell you that.”

Nurmagomedov (28-0) is coming off a submission win over Dustin Poirier in September, while Ferguson (25-3) hasn’t fought since June, when he recorded a TKO win over Donald Cerrone (via doctor stoppage).