Former interim UFC lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson is set for his first Octagon outing at the welterweight limit since winning The Ultimate Fighter 13 in 2011, returning at UFC 279 on September 10. at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada – as he tackles the #14 ranked, Li Jingliang.
Ferguson, who attempts to snap a disappointing run of four losses against Jingliang next month, most recently featured on the main card of UFC 274 earlier this year in May – suffering a brutal second round front kick knockout loss against Michael Chandler.
Tony Ferguson will make his first outing at 170lbs since winning TUF 13 back in 2011
As for Jingliang, the Xinjiang native returned to the winner’s enclosure at UFC on ABC 3 back in July, finishing Muslim Salikhov with a second round knockout. The stoppage earned Jingliang a Performance of the Night bonus. UFC president Dana White confirmed the matchup of Tony Ferguson and Li Jingliang during his post-fight press conference following UFC 278. (H/T Mike Bohn)
“Dana White just confirmed to me that Tony Ferguson vs. Li Jingliang in a welterweight fight is done for #UFC279 on Sept. 10 in Las Vegas,” Mike Bohn tweeted.
Without a victory since June 2019, Ferguson then extended his division-best undefeated run to 12 consecutive fights with a second round doctor’s stoppage TKO win over the recently retired, Donald Cerrone.
In the midst of a four fight losing streak, Ferguson slipped Chandler earlier this year, adding to prior losses against Beneil Dariush, as well as former lightweight titleholders, Charles Oliveira, and Justin Gaethje.
Prior to his win over Salikhov back in July, Jingliang had been sidelined since October of last year in Abu Dhabi, UAE – where he suffered an infamous first round rear-naked choke against UFC 279 headliner, the undefeated, Khamzat Chimaev.
UFC 279 takes place on September 10. from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada – with a welterweight main event between Khamzat Chimaev and Nate Diaz set to take headlining honours.