This just in:
Next month’s highly-anticipated Dustin Poirier vs. Tony Ferguson
fight isn’t in the works anymore, according to Poirier.“UFC and I didn’t come to terms,” Poirier told ESPN. “I will not be
fighting on Oct. 24.”Poirier will return home to Lafayette next week.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)
September 10, 2020
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. The
Ultimate Fighting Championship lost a fight that was never
officially announced but fans strongly desired.
On Thursday,
ESPN reported that the speculated lightweight affair between
Dustin
Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) and Tony
Ferguson (25-4) will not be going down on
UFC 254 like some had hoped. Although never on the books, UFC
President Dana White hinted at the pairing, while admitting at the
time that agreements were not yet in place. The match was
considered to be held on Oct. 24 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United
Arab Emirates, at the end of a five-card stretch at the Flash
Forum.
According to Poirier, he will be returning to his home in Louisiana
and halting his training camp because the negotiations were
unsuccessful. The fighters and the UFC could not agree to terms,
and Ferguson had not signed to the bout either. It is uncertain if
the promotion will simply try to reschedule it for a later date or
cancel it outright and make new bouts for each man.
“UFC and I didn’t come to terms,” said Poirier to ESPN. “I will not
be fighting on Oct. 24. I just need to be compensated if they want
this fight…simple as that. I’m a prize fighter and the prize needs
to be right.”
ESPN also noted that while this was a landmark fight, it had
multiple stipulations depending on certain unforeseen results. For
example, as the Khabib
Nurmagomedov vs. Justin
Gaethje lightweight title unification match is set as the UFC
254 headliner, either Poirier or Ferguson would be tapped as a
replacement depending on who withdrew. If Gaethje were forced to
step out, Ferguson would fight Nurmagomedov; on the other hand,
Poirier would replace a withdrawing Nurmagomedov to take on Gaethje
once again.
Poirier last competed in June in a five-round battle with Dan Hooker,
where he took a spirited decision and the two pocketed a “Fight of
the Night” bonus for their efforts. The FOTN honor
Poirier’s seventh as a UFC fighter, the only man at the time
with more was Nate Diaz. In
his last eight outings, “The Diamond” has taken home six post-fight
bonuses. His win over Hooker put him on the right side of the win
column after a championship defeat to Khabib
Nurmagomedov. The loss to the Russian champ snapped a
tremendous four-fight win streak where he beat Max
Holloway, Eddie
Alvarez, Gaethje and Anthony
Pettis.
Ferguson’s massive 12-fight win streak came to a screeching halt at
the hands of Gaethje in May for the interim strap. Not to be
outdone by Poirier, “El Cucuy” has earned post-fight bonus money in
eight of his last nine matches, while racking up nine bonuses along
the way. His win streak included names like Donald
Cerrone, Pettis, Kevin Lee and
Rafael dos
Anjos to name a few.
UFC 254 takes place on Yas Island on Oct. 24, with a top billing of
Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje. The expected co-main event is a
heavyweight rumble between Alexander
Volkov and Walt Harris.
Also scheduled for the evening is a middleweight scrap between
Robert
Whittaker and Jared
Cannonier, while Magomed
Ankalaev has been re-booked to face Ion
Cutelaba on the card as well.
