Tony Ferguson is officially off UFC 254.
Despite the top lightweight’s match-up against Dustin Poirier falling through for the pay-per-view, Dana White made it clear that he still had plans for the former UFC Interim Lightweight Champion. However, the UFC President revealed that Ferguson went quiet during recent negotiations, thus the reasoning that the 36-year-old is being pulled from the show:
"They went quiet on us,” White told TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter. “We couldn’t get a fight done.”
It was reported by Ariel Helwani of ESPN that officials had former Bellator Lightweight Champion Michael Chandler as Ferguson’s replacement opponent, but clearly, the negotiations between both sides have fallen through. The veteran was also penciled in as the backup for the Khabib Nurmagomedo/Justin Gaethje fight, but that honor has now gone to Chandler.
It’s been known that Tony Ferguson supported Dustin Poirier’s venture to get more money for the upcoming lightweight bout. While the reasoning behind the negotiations going cold is still unknown, it’s likely due to the veteran not wanting to step into the octagon against any lower tier competitors.
Other than Chandler, Ferguson’s only other options in the top five rankings were Dan Hooker and Conor McGregor; Hooker has stated that he’s interested in fighting the veteran, but UFC 254 wouldn't be the ideal date for him. As for Conor McGregor, who’s currently dealing his own issues right now, well…he’s retired. At least for now.