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.

The post Dustin Poirier Will Fight Tony Ferguson if “Compensated” Properly appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s decision to pull out of UFC 249 didn’t sit well with his challenger Tony Ferguson. According to Ferguson, Nurmagomedov’s refusal to fight him should cost him his lightweight champion title.

Nurmagomedov was set to defend his title against Ferguson on April 18th. However, the Dagestan fighter decided to skip the event due to concerns over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, announcing the news on social media on Wednesday and saying he is in quarantine.

Ferguson, on the other hand, thinks his opponent is “scared and running” and should lose his belt.

“He should be stripped of his title,” said Ferguson in a recent interview with SportsCenter.

“He obviously knew what he could do to help save this card,” he added. “He didn’t want to take any of those chances. Everybody is taking risks trying to do it. He bailed out, man. It’s pretty hard to explain, but he bailed out, man.”

Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov never met before although their fights have been scheduled on five different occasions. Each time, the fight was canceled as one of the fighters was injured or ill.

Ferguson has 25-3 record, having lost his last fight back in 2012. He held Interim UFC Lightweight Championship title between October 2017 and April 2018.

Nurmagomedov, on the other hand, has 28-0 record. He won the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship in 2018 against Al Iaquinta and defended it successfully twice.

The post Tony Ferguson Says Khabib Nurmagomedov Should Be “Stripped of His Title” appeared first on SportzBonanza.

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.

The post Dustin Poirier Will Fight Tony Ferguson if “Compensated” Properly appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s decision to pull out of UFC 249 didn’t sit well with his challenger Tony Ferguson. According to Ferguson, Nurmagomedov’s refusal to fight him should cost him his lightweight champion title.

Nurmagomedov was set to defend his title against Ferguson on April 18th. However, the Dagestan fighter decided to skip the event due to concerns over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, announcing the news on social media on Wednesday and saying he is in quarantine.

Ferguson, on the other hand, thinks his opponent is “scared and running” and should lose his belt.

“He should be stripped of his title,” said Ferguson in a recent interview with SportsCenter.

“He obviously knew what he could do to help save this card,” he added. “He didn’t want to take any of those chances. Everybody is taking risks trying to do it. He bailed out, man. It’s pretty hard to explain, but he bailed out, man.”

Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov never met before although their fights have been scheduled on five different occasions. Each time, the fight was canceled as one of the fighters was injured or ill.

Ferguson has 25-3 record, having lost his last fight back in 2012. He held Interim UFC Lightweight Championship title between October 2017 and April 2018.

Nurmagomedov, on the other hand, has 28-0 record. He won the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship in 2018 against Al Iaquinta and defended it successfully twice.

The post Tony Ferguson Says Khabib Nurmagomedov Should Be “Stripped of His Title” appeared first on SportzBonanza.