UFC President Dana White Has Just Said Something That’s Going to Make Fans of Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagamedov Very Excited… He’s Confirmed That’s the Title Fight the Lightweight Division Needs Next…
If you’re Tony Ferguson you can justifiably feel a little bit hard done by. ‘El Cucuy’ might have one of the most unique personalities in the game, but hidden behind that quirky exterior is a ruthlessly, devastating fighter. He fuses unorthodox techniques with slick striking and smooth Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to great effect and has the longest winning streak in the lightweight division, with 11 straight victories.
He may finally be set to fight the lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagamedov. The pair has been booked to fight on an incredible four previous occasions, but we might finally get one of the most anticipated potential fights in world MMA today.
UFC President Dana White has confirmed that this is the fight that the promotion would like to make next for the lightweight title. Wouldn’t this be an awesome fight?
Let’s Fight
White was speaking at the UFC 234 pre-fight conference in Australia when he made some interesting comments about the future of the lightweight division. Now that Khabib Nurmagamedov and Conor McGregor’s situations have been resolved, at least there is some clarity for the promotion. While the Russian fighter is unlikely to return before July, White has no doubt about who he wants him to fight next. He said:
“Of course Tony deserves it. He’s the No. 1 contender. He’s the guy. That’s the fight.”
Fair
It really is that simple. Ferguson is a former interim champion and has beaten a whole line of tough opposition to climb to the top of the division. He was stripped of the belt after he tripped over a cable at a UFC press event, ruling him out for six months – through no fault of his own.
Meanwhile, Khabib is going to be out of action until at least July, after rejecting an offer from the NAC that would see him reduce his suspension from 9 months to six. It doesn’t look like ‘The Eagle’ is going to get stripped though. He has said that he thinks the UFC will book Ferguson against Dustin Poirier for an interim title.
“I think that they will create an interim title,” Khabib told Russia’s Sportbox. “It could be between Poirier and Ferguson. Whoever wins will become the interim champion, and then at the end of the year we will fight for the real belt. I think that could happen. At the moment I don’t know for sure.”
Wait and See
Of course, it would be entirely understandable if Ferguson was to turn around and laugh at the UFC for having the cheek to offer him another interim belt. Fighters are growing wise to the fact that they’re worth about as much as Dillon Danis’s claims that he’d beat Steven Seagal.
All we can do is wait and see what happens. It all depends on how long Khabib plans on being out of action. Will the UFC tolerate him holding up the division for about a year? He’s not the same cash cow as Conor McGregor…
