Sources confirmed with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani that Tony Ferguson will fight Khabib Nurmagomedov in a championship bout at UFC 223 in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center on April 7. It is unclear whether the fight will be for Ferguson’s interim lightweight title, or if White will strip Conor McGregor of the belt, which would turn the UFC 223 bout for the vacant undisputed championship.
On Wednesday morning, UFC president Dana White appeared on the “Toucher and Rich” radio show, where he mentioned that he expected the Ferguson-Nurmagomedov matchup to take place in Brooklyn. However, he was not asked about and did not clarify which iteration of the lightweight title will be on the line.
Ferguson won the lightweight interim belt this past October at UFC 216 when he defeated Kevin Lee by third-round triangle choke submission. Will McGregor officially be stripped of the Lightweight title? We don't know yet, but its going to be a very interesting world for MMA and Conor McGregor for the next couple of months.