Khabib Nurmagomedov's victory train continued this weekend, when former interim champion Dustin Poirier finished in the third round of the match. Both the undefeated champion as well as UFC president Dana White have explicitly stated that Tony Ferguson is next in line to go for the title in the lightweight division.
Will the meeting be this time?
The meeting between the two has been scheduled on several previous occasions. The idea was that the UFC stars would meet for the first time at the end of 2015. That time, Nurmagomedov was forced to withdraw from the match, as a result of a rib injury.
The following year, the world's largest MMA organization tried again to book the meeting, this time to UFC Tampa. This match was also canceled due to injury concerns, as Ferguson had fluid / blood in his lungs.
In the final days of 2016, rumors began to flourish about a third attempt to get to the match. In connection with this, White revealed that the UFC had difficulty getting Ferguson's contract signed. The American demanded exactly the same salary as Nurmagomedov, even though there was already a negotiated contract with the organization. This prompted the current champion to offer $ 200,000 extra to Ferguson, directly from Russia's own wallet.
In January 2017, the meeting was officially booked for UFC 209. As the then champion Conor McGregor was busy preparing for the boxing match against Floyd Mayweather, the interim belt in the division would be at stake. This time again, it was Nurmagomedov who failed to maintain the agreement. As a result of weight loss problems, the undefeated 'fighter' was forced to withdraw, which caused the UFC president to quit.
They went rogue and went out and did their own thing. Had they done this thing the right way, the fight probably could have been saved.
In January last year, the UFC tried to get to the meeting for the fourth time, the plan was for the killing to take place during UFC 223 in Brooklyn. In conjunction with a media interview, Ferguson suffered a collateral ligament injury to one knee and was forced to cancel the match.
The master opens up as a favorite
The meeting is not officially scheduled by the UFC, but it does not prevent the odds makers from dropping the initial odds for the meeting. The reigning champion opens up as a relatively big favorite against the challenger. A game at Nurmagomedov would today return 1.33 times the bet while Ferguson gives 3.50 times the money back as the winner. This according to 'Best Fight Odds'.
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