Last October, Tony Ferguson submitted Kevin Lee in the main event of UFC 216 to become the interim lightweight champion. He was then scheduled to take on Khabib Nurmagomedov for the undisputed title at UFC 223 this past April in New York, but he was forced to withdraw from the bout just days prior after suffering a gruesome injury.
Ultimately, Nurmagomedov went on to beat late replacement Al Iaquinta to become the 155-pound champion, while Ferguson was essentially stripped of his interim strap, although it’s likely he’ll receive a title shot upon his return.
Regardless, lightweight contender Michael Chiesa, who recently spoke on the situation, still sees Ferguson as the true champion:
“In my eyes, Tony Ferguson’s the champion,” Chiesa told Submission Radio. “I mean, his win streak has a lot of prestigious names to it. You know, he beat Kevin Lee, he beat Rafael dos Anjos, he beat Edson Barboza, he’s got that long laundry list of guys in his win streak.”
“So, I look at Tony as the champion. But, you know, I’m not taking anything away from Khabib. He’s got, what, 25-0, 26-0 record all together? So, his win streak’s insane, but I look at Tony as the champion. Now, if Tony and Khabib fight, who knows how that fight goes, but just in my eyes I think that Tony’s the champion.”
Chiesa is currently slated to take on former champion Anthony Pettis at July 7’s UFC 226 from Las Vegas, Nevada, but he also expressed interest in fighting “El Cucuy”:
“Actually, of all the guys, I’d rather fight Tony. Just because Tony and I were supposed to fight in 2016 and that never came to fruition,” Chiesa said. “And I look at Tony as the toughest match-up for me. With that being said, I think him being the toughest match-up for me will bring out the best in me.”
“I’m the type of guy where I feel like if you throw me in against the guy that’s gonna be my hardest match-up, I think that’s gonna bring out the best in me, and I know that the best of me can beat anybody on any given day to become the world champion. So, Tony is the fight that I like for myself.”
What do you make of the lightweight title picture?
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