UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov thinks Tony Ferguson will have a tough time against Anthony Pettis at UFC 229, but he's hoping he will win.

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson have perhaps one of the longest and most storied feuds in the UFC without ever fighting and the mind games don’t appear to be over.

Nurmagomedov and Ferguson have been set to fight no fewer than four times previously but have yet to ever share the UFC Octagon. So has the been the bad luck surrounding the pair following cancellations in December 2015, April 2016, March 2017, and lastly at UFC 223 on April 7, 2018, Dana White infamously told Brett Okamoto of ESPN “I’m never making that fight ever again. Ever.”

Of course, time heals all wounds and with Ferguson never officially losing his interim UFC lightweight title after being stripped of it at UFC 223, a showdown between the two of them could be on the cards should both men be victorious at UFC 229 in three weeks time.

Despite the stop-start-stop nature of their feud in the past, speaking recently with Brian Vaga (@IamtheBay), Nurmagomedov said he would happily fight Ferguson in 2019 should he overcome Anthony Pettis in his return fight on October 6.

“I hope he going to win,” Nurmagomedov said. “But my opinion, this fight is stylistically little bit bad matchup for Tony Ferguson. I don’t know how he feel after he is injured. He is 34 years old. “He come back after injury. If he wins, it’s going to be big fight next year. One more biggest fight in UFC history. Let’s go.”

It was revealed earlier today that Ferguson vs Pettis will feature as the co-main event for UFC 229 and will be joined by Derrick Lewis vs Alexander Volkov, Ovince St. Preux vs Dominick Reyes and Michelle Waterson vs Felice Herrig on the main card.

UFC 229 Full Fight Card:

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor 155 lbs

Tony Ferguson vs. Anthony Pettis 155 lbs

Derrick Lewis vs. Alexander Volkov 265 lbs

Ovince St. Preux vs. Dominick Reyes 205 lbs

Michelle Waterson vs. Felice Herrig 115 lbs

Sergio Pettis vs. Jussier Formiga 125 lbs

Yana Kunitskaya vs. Lina Länsberg 135 lbs

Ryan LaFlare vs. Tony Martin 170 lbs

Sean O’Malley vs. Jose Quiñones 135 lbs

Alan Patrick vs. Scott Holtzman 155 lbs

Gray Maynard vs. Nik Lentz 155 lbs

Tonya Evinger vs. Aspen Ladd 135 lbs