UFC 242: So Dana White Says Tony Ferguson’s Next For Title Shot, Provided He’s “Ready”

If you’re one of the many folks who has been calling for Tony Ferguson to get a title shot, well, Dana White’s recent comments on the subject should make you happy.

Post Khabib Nurmagomedov – Dustin Poirier

For weeks, there’s been no shortage of discussion and debate about who will fight for the lightweight title next, after Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier throw hands at UFC 242 tomorrow. In fact, even before this fight was officially booked, talk about who should get a shot at the 155 crown has been common.

Case in point, after Nurmagomedov tapped Conor McGregor last October at UFC 229, many predicted the promotion would give McGregor an immediate rematch, since it would generate so much money. Those predictions were met with plenty of objections, particularly from people who believe meritocracy should play a key role in matchmaking. After all, the Khabib – Conor fight wasn’t that close, and the latter hasn’t won a fight now since 2016.

Ferguson’s title shot run

Well, since Ferguson is riding a 12 fight winning streak, which includes securing an interim title, there’s been widespread calls for him to get a title shot. Both Nurmagomedov and Poirier have said there’s no question “El Cucuy” should be next after UFC 242.

So is Dana White thinking the same thing? During a recent interview with ESPN, the UFC President said this (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“Listen, again, if Tony Ferguson’s ready,” White said. “Tony Ferguson’s been offered opportunities before that he hasn’t taken. If Tony’s ready then yeah [he’s next].”

It should be noted that White has said previously that he thought Ferguson would likely be next for a title shot. So, the comments above shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise.

But, since things can change so fast in MMA, and because title shot commitments often don’t transpire, this is nice to hear so close to UFC 242. There’s no question Ferguson deserves to fight for the belt.

Hopefully “El Cucuy” stays healthy and ready to go. Who knows, if all goes well, maybe we’ll see him fight for the belt before 2019 wraps up? Although, it remains to be seen whether the winner of Khabib – Poirier will want to enter into yet another camp in 2.5, 3 months time. Obviously the winner would need to emerge from tomorrow’s fight healthy as well.

UFC 242 line-up

Here is the line-up for next Saturday’s, September 7th card in Abu Dhabi (via Bloody Elbow).

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Dustin Poirier
Edson Barboza vs. Paul Felder
Curtis Blaydes vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov
Islam Makhachev vs. Davi Ramos
Mairbek Taisumov vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira
Khalid Taha vs. Bruno Silva
Belal Muhammad vs. Takashi Sato
Liana Jojua vs. Sarah Moras
Nordine Taleb vs. Muslim Salikhov
Joanne Calderwood vs. Andrea Lee
Omari Akhmedov vs. Zak Cummings
Magomed Mustafaev vs. Don Madge
Puna Soriano vs. Adam Yandiev