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Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier will collide in a Lightweight title unification match this Saturday night (Sept. 7, 2019) in the main event of UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi. And the victor won’t have to think too hard about who his next opponent will be, as both “The Eagle” and “The Diamond” are in agreement that Tony Ferguson is next in line.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White, however, has the final word, and he has yet to confirm Tony as the next challenger, though he has teased the possibility of Conor McGregor swooping in and stealing the shot.
That won’t happen, though, as Ferguson says fight fans know who the true No. 1 contender really is, and the promotion can expect some blow back from the mixed martial arts (MMA) community should Conor be awarded an unjust title fight.
“No way man, the fans wouldn’t have it, they’d put up too much of a fight,” explained Tony during a recent interview on Ariel Helani’s MMA Show. “He’s been fighting old men lately, he’s trying to fight Mark Wahlberg. Maybe that’s the fight for him. The dude’s got a couple of things, making his money, doing his thing. I don’t know if he wants to fight anymore, but he is not my concern.”
Indeed, Ferguson couldn’t let Conor’s recent woes fly by the wayside, also taking a dig at “Notorious” for calling for a fight against mega-movie star Mark Wahlberg for his UFC shares.
As far as his own showdown agaisnt Conor, Tony says while it’s something he campaigned hard to get in the past, it’s something that’s not at the top of his list due to the fact that the mouthy Irishman is now irrelevant in the fight game.
“He is like one of those ex-girlfriends. I stopped worrying about that dude. At first he was in line trying to go for the title, and once he became irrelevant I stopped caring about him. Now he’s mentioning my name? Get the fuck out of here dude, come on,” said Tony.
Still, to hear “El Cucy” tell it, a fight between the two men isn’t completely out of the question, as he says Conor should face the loser of Khabib vs Poirier. If he wins that fight, then he might give him a shot at the title once he becomes champ again.
If all goes as planned, Ferguson hopes to face the winner of this weekend’s title fight at the UFC 245 year-end pay-per-view (PPV) event on December 14 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
As far as who he is picking to emerge victorious in Abu Dhabi, “El Cucuy” says he doesn’t really have a dog in the fight, as he says settling up his beef with Khabib is on his mind, but facing a proven fighter such as Poirier is appetizing, as well.