Tony Ferguson scored arguably the biggest win of his MMA career Saturday night when he submitted Kevin Lee to capture the interim UFC lightweight championship. On paper, that victory should have been a winning ticket to the “Next to Fight Conor McGregor” sweepstakes, but in reality the Irish striker’s future is incredibly murky with numerous other suitors all wanting a crack at MMA’s premiere meal ticket.
The newly minted titleholder isn’t too concerned with what’s next for McGregor, though. Speaking with Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour (warning, NSFW language), he delivered a chilling ultimatum to the lightweight champion.
“He didn’t say s–t on Twitter…he hasn’t said nothing. The boy is scared, he’s running,” he said. “I told him just set the belt down, walk away and nobody will get hurt. That’s all you’ve got to do, just set it down and you won’t get your ass kicked, I swear.”
In his rise to mainstream drawing power, McGregor has torn down a great deal of the UFC’s traditional sports framework. Normally, a UFC champion remains in his division, takes on challengers and defends his belt until losing it.
McGregor, however, has pushed back against that and become a true prizefighter, seeking out the fights with the greatest fan appeal, much to the chagrin of some. Because of that, while Ferguson may, on paper, be next in line for McGregor, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him instead seek out a rubber match with Nate Diaz, a bout with returning top pay-per-view draw Georges St-Pierre or even another boxing match.
Still, while Ferguson can live without a “red panty night,” he’s not keen on letting the biggest paycheck of his career walk away unchallenged. “If you go to 170, 185, or even 145, I will f–king follow you, Conor,” he said in the same The MMA Hour podcast. “I will haunt your f–king dreams, kid.”
There have been rumbles that McGregor will return before year’s end. If so, it will be interesting to see what’s in store for Ferguson, McGregor and the entire UFC lightweight division.
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