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#2 Will Conor or Khabib really want to fight Ferguson instead?
Before Nurmagomedov and McGregor face off at UFC 229, the de facto #1 contender at 155lbs – Tony Ferguson – will fight in the co-main event against former champion Anthony Pettis. And although Pettis is clearly a live opponent, ‘El Cucuy’ should probably go into the fight as a major betting favourite. And for good reason – he’s massively skilled in all areas, is incredibly tough and has won 10 UFC fights in a row.
But should Ferguson indeed come out on top, will the winner of McGregor vs. Nurmagomedov really want to fight him next? By all rights, they should, as he’d be the legitimate #1 contender and formerly held the Interim Lightweight title, too. But realistically, there are more factors at play.
Firstly, Ferguson is not a proven drawing card – his lone pay-per-view main event at UFC 216 drew just 200k buys, and he isn’t a notable trash talker able to really build a big fight. And secondly, McGregor and Nurmagomedov may both have individual, specific reasons to avoid a fight with him.
For Khabib, the fight with Ferguson has already been booked 4 times since 2015, and each time it’s been cancelled due to injuries. Dana White has already stated he wouldn’t want to attempt to make the “cursed fight” again, so why would Khabib want to sign up for it?
For McGregor meanwhile, the fear would be that Ferguson – who has a longer reach and a better ground game than the Irishman – is simply a bad stylistic match. Conor has fought anyone who’s stepped in front of him for most of his career but now he’s at the stage where he can pick and choose – so would he really want to fight ‘El Cucuy’ after struggling with a taller striker in Nate Diaz?
Assuming Ferguson isn’t the go-to fight then, who would be? Nate Diaz is a possibility, but he’s got to get through Dustin Poirier – if he even shows up at UFC 230 – and Poirier poses many of the same problems as Ferguson. Realistically, there’s no logical next fight, which is why a left field opponent like GSP would work.
