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UFC President Dana White has revealed that the winner of Tony Ferguson vs. Charles Oliveira may get a shot at the UFC lightweight title.
Dana White suggests that Tony Ferguson vs. Charles Oliveira has serious title implications
The Tony Ferguson vs. Charles Oliveira matchup is being hailed as one of the most important fights on the UFC 256 fight card.
The vast majority of MMA fans and experts believe that the fight will have serious title implications in the UFC lightweight division.
Speaking at a UFC media scrum, Dana White admitted that the winner of the Tony Ferguson vs. Charles Oliveira fight could receive the next shot at the UFC lightweight championship. White stated:
“Either guy that wins this fight could be in a title fight. Yeah.” (Video courtesy: HelenYeeSports)
Tony Ferguson is at a crossroads in his MMA career
Tony Ferguson was on a 12-fight winning streak as he entered his interim UFC lightweight title fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 in May 2020.
Ferguson had previously held the interim UFC lightweight title and he was once again set to compete for the interim belt, this time around against Gaethje.
Many in the combat sports world considered Tony Ferguson to be the favorite to beat Justin Gaethje, the winner going on to face UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in a title unification fight.
However, the UFC 249 matchup witnessed Justin Gaethje beat Tony Ferguson via fifth-round TKO. Gaethje went on to face Nurmagomedov in a title unification matchup in October 2020 but lost via second-round submission.
The loss to Gaethje marked the end of Tony Ferguson’s winning streak and once again disallowed the dream matchup between Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov from coming to fruition.
Presently, most MMA fans and experts believe that Tony Ferguson is at a crossroads in his career, as a loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 256 could be detrimental to Ferguson’s standing in the UFC lightweight division.
Charles Oliveira is knocking at the door of a UFC lightweight title shot
Charles Oliveira is currently on a seven-fight winning streak, with all seven wins coming by way of stoppage. Do Bronx finished five of these fights via submission and two via KO or TKO.
As the Brazilian MMA stalwart is set to face El Cucuy at UFC 256, the consensus is that Charles Oliveira will surely receive a UFC lightweight title shot if he manages to beat Tony Ferguson.
The UFC lightweight title is held by Khabib Nurmagomedov, who retired from MMA in October 2020 but still hasn’t been stripped of the title.
Which fighter do you see emerging victorious in the matchup between Tony Ferguson and Charles Oliveira? Sound off in the comments.
