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Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson has been made official.
Early this week week, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov signed his contract to fight Tony Ferguson on April 18th in Brooklyn. On Friday, “El Cucuy” fulfilled his end of the deal.
According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Ferguson and his representatives signed the contract to fight “The Eagle” during a meeting with UFC executives in Las Vegas.
UFC president Dana White told ESPN earlier this week the promotion was targeting the matchup for its April date in New York. Ferguson wanted the fight but needed Friday’s meeting before officially locking it in. Both White and Ferguson’s management confirmed the bout.
The two have been scheduled to face each other four times in the past, only for the bookings to fall through because of injuries and health issues from both sides. The most recent attempt was for UFC 223 in April 2018, where Ferguson pulled out due to a knee injury during fight week.
Khabib last fought at UFC 242 in September in Abu Dhabi, where he defended his title for the second time against Dustin Poirier via third round submission. Ferguson, meanwhile, last saw action at UFC 238 in June, where he defeated Donald Cerrone via second round TKO from a doctor’s stoppage.