Heat intensifies between Ferguson, Nurmagomedov as UFC 223 nears

On a conference call leading up to UFC 223 on April 7, interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson and title challenger Khabib Nurmagomedov spent most of their time throwing verbal jabs at each other.

A lightweight championship bout is on tap as the main event. Current interim champ Tony Ferguson will face Khabib Nurmagomedov in a highly anticipated bout.

Since 2015, the matchup between the two competitors was scheduled to take place three times, but none of them came to fruition. On the call, the tension between the two was palpable.

In the co-main event, UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas will put her belt on the line for the first time against former division title holder, Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

On the call, the women discussed the impending rematch set to take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Check out the videos above.

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Contact Heidi Fang at hfang@reviewjournal.com. Follow @HeidiFang on Twitter.