“Tony Ferguson just came off a great win this weekend over ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and I’m assuming he’s next.”
What else does Tony Ferguson have to do to earn a title shot?
The former interim champ is on a whopping twelve-fight win streak and holds impressive victories over the likes of Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos. Ferguson hasn’t lost a fight since 2013 and is one of the most well-rounded, entertaining and unorthodox fighters on the UFC roster.
The Ultimate Fighter 13 winner has a less than stellar relationship with Dana White, however. But, speaking on a recent edition of the LV Sports Biz podcast, the UFC president teased that ‘El Cucuy’ may finally get a crack at the winner of the upcoming lightweight title unification bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier at UFC 242.
“Khabib is fighting Dustin Poirier in Abu Dhabi in September. Then I don’t know, then we’ll see. Tony Ferguson just came off a great win this weekend over “Cowboy” Cerrone and I’m assuming he’s next,” White said, per MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin.
With that said, nothing is guaranteed and White hinted that former UFC two-division champ Conor McGregor could go on to rematch Khabib for the title.
“Then we’ll see what happens with Conor, what Conor wants to do. Conor McGregor has been amazing for the company, for the sport. Introducing the sport to a lot of Europeans that didn’t otherwise watch it back then. He’s been amazing and part of his personality, Conor McGregor loves to negotiate. This guy really, truly is not just a fighter but he’s actually a really good businessman.
“If you look at the whiskey brand that he’s building right now, and what he’s done with that in such a short amount of time, he’s killing it. He’s a kid that loves to fight but he’s also a kid who has a lot of other options so it’s not just fighting that’s paying his bills.”
UFC 242: Khabib vs. Poirier takes place later this year, September 7 at du Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.