The fight between Dustin Poirier and Tony Ferguson, two former interim UFC Lightweight Champions, is closer than ever. Speaking with ESPN on Wednesday, Poirier said that he is ready to face Ferguson but also wants to be “compensated” properly for that.
The UFC management wants to set up the fight for UFC 254, which is scheduled to take place on October 24th in Abu Dhabi. And while the organization is making a strong push to finalize the bout, Poirier is taking his time with approving the deal.
“I’m in,” said Poirier. “I just need to be compensated if they want this fight. Simple as that.”
Poirier, who is one of the promotion’s most popular fighters, has a 26-6 professional record having won five out of his last six fights. His only loss came against current UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“I’m a prize fighter, and the prize needs to be right,” he added.
Tony Ferguson, on the other hand, already accepted UFC’s terms according to reports and is ready to fight if Poirier officially gets on board. Ferguson’s last fight was in May when he lost to Justin Gaethje. He won 12 consecutive fights before that.
The UFC 254 will be headlined by the lightweight title bout between Nurmagomedov and Gaethje, while Poirier vs. Ferguson would serve as co-main if agreed upon.
