“Here’s Lookin’ At You Kid” Pay the man
@danawhite
@ufc Love
ya’ll but let’s give the Hardcore & Casual fans what they deserve,
a good fight Sir -CSO- @DustinPoirier
#ufc254 pic.twitter.com/uVwwZIUtSd— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT)
September 14, 2020
It seemed like the matchup fans—and the fighters—wanted, but for
now at least, they will have to wait.
A rumored bout between Dustin
Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) and Tony
Ferguson (25-4) for UFC 254 next month had fans buzzing, as the
two lightweight contenders discussed the possibility on social
media. Even though the Ultimate Fighting Championship never officially
announced the matchup, the organization was said to be actively
negotiating with both fighters.
On Thursday, it was reported that the matchup
was in doubt, due primarily to Poirier’s financial requests. At
the press conference after Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 177, UFC
President Dana White confirmed that the bout was off and that the
promotion was looking for another opponent for “El Cucuy.”
“No, we’re not even trying to salvage it,” White said. “We’re
getting another fight [for Ferguson].”
In his latest Octagon appearance at UFC 249 in May, Ferguson
suffered his first loss in eight years at the hands of Justin
Gaethje. Before that defeat, Ferguson had been on a 12-fight
winning streak with significant victories over Edson
Barboza, Donald
Cerrone and former divisional champions Rafael dos
Anjos and Anthony
Pettis. Former interim champion Poirier fought most recently in
June, upending Dan Hooker in
a back-and-forth battle that earned them a “Fight of the Night”
bonus.
UFC 254 takes place on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, on Oct. 24 and is
scheduled to be headlined by a lightweight title unification bout
between undefeated champ Khabib
Nurmagomedov and interim titleholder Justin
Gaethje. The card will also feature a heavyweight battle
between Alexander
Volkov and Walt Harris
and a middleweight scrap between former champion Robert
Whittaker and Jared
Cannonier.