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The UFC had notably booked the Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov fight on multiple occasions however said fight fell apart every single time.
Ferguson subsequently faced Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 in May of this year, with the latter ending up scoring what many consider to be an upset victory over Ferguson.
Ali Abdelaziz offers Tony Ferguson $200,000 if the latter can face and defeat Islam Makhachev at UFC 254
With Tony Ferguson presently finding himself a win or two away from title contention, he’s been considerably vocal about procuring a fight booking for himself at the earliest.
Ali Abdelaziz – an MMA manager best known for managing Khabib Nurmagomedov, apart from several other top-tier fighters – has for long been engaged in a war of words against his client Nurmagomedov’s archrival Tony Ferguson.
Additionally, Abdelaziz also manages one of Nurmagomedov’s training partners Islam Makhachev.
Makhachev, who’s an up-and-coming talent in the UFC Lightweight division, was set to compete in the biggest fight of his career thus far against former UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos.
Makhachev’s fight against Dos Anjos was a part of the upcoming UFC 254 fight card that’ll also feature UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov taking on Interim UFC Lightweight titlist Justin Gaethje in a title unification matchup.
Dos Anjos tested positive for COVID-19 and was coerced to withdraw from his fight against Makhachev, owing to which the latter’s manager Ali Abdelaziz has been attempting to find a replacement opponent who’d fight Makhachev at UFC 254.
On that note, Abdelaziz recently took to his official social media account and put forth a tweet whereby he offered Tony Ferguson the opportunity to face Makhachev at UFC 254.
Ferguson, on his part, has been challenging several fighters including Dustin Poirier and Khabib Nurmagomedov to fight him; as the former has consistently expressed his desire to return to the Octagon and work his way back to a shot at the UFC Lightweight Title.
Responding to Abdelaziz’s initial offer to fight Makhachev at UFC 254, Ferguson notably stated – “where’s my $200k and 20 push-ups?”
Abdelaziz reverted to Ferguson and has now claimed that he’ll pay Ferguson $100,000 to fight Islam Makhachev at UFC 254, and if Ferguson were to win that fight, he’d pay him another $100,000.
Fans can read Abdelaziz’s tweet below –
“Ok if you fight @MAKHACHEVMMA I will give 100k /100k if you win you have my word This is how much I respect let’s go”
What’s next for Tony Ferguson?
The general consensus in the MMA community is that Tony Ferguson is unlikely to take up Ali Abdelaziz on his offer.
The belief is that Ferguson is likely a couple of wins away from a shot at the UFC Lightweight Championship, with many opining that in light of his excellent record, popularity, and relatively unparalleled consistency, the UFC could accord him a title shot right after his next victory.
Would you like to see Tony Ferguson fight Islam Makhachev? Sound off in the comments.
