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Former Bellator Lightweight champion and new UFC Lightweight contender Michael Chandler confirmed on Wednesday that he will not be fighting Tony Ferguson this December.
Ferguson has been calling for the fight against Chandler since last week, and wants it to be part of UFC 256 on December 12th.
Speaking to ESPN, Chandler said:
"There is a 0% chance I'll fight Tony Ferguson in December. And I 100% know he knew that, because the UFC already told him that, and I've already said I'll see him in January. Now that we have Conor [McGregor] fighting Dustin [Poirier] -- it looks like that fight will get booked on Jan. 23 -- they need a co-main event. Why wouldn't it be Chandler vs. Ferguson?"
"The UFC didn't offer me the fight in December, because they know I'm on a timeline now. I just made weight in October. Everybody knows I'm an active fighter and I'm constantly training, but I needed just four weeks off. Essentially, Tony is campaigning for us to fight in 3.5 weeks."
However, Ferguson in typical fashion replied to Chandler's message with a 'take it or leave it threat’
"UFC has said you have already accepted Another Fight ese! So Michael Chandler stop crying to ESPN about fighting me. You want to compete against me I’ll be in Vegas December 12. Accept or we move on. Champ Shit Only,"
Tony Ferguson wants to fight Michael Chandler at UFC 256
Michael Chandler has been making UFC headlines even before making his official Octagon debut.
The Missouri native was the backup to the title fight at UFC 254 between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje.
Michael Chandler has been calling out the Top 5 contenders in the UFC - specifically Tony Ferguson and Dustin Poirier - since October.
"Tony, you had the opportunity to fight me in October and you said no. You didn't even bring up fighting in December until it was way past the 11th hour. Let's be realistic and sign up for Jan. 23. If you think you still have what it takes to fight for a title, fight me on Jan. 23. Why not take that opportunity, instead of muddying the water with this silly stuff?"
Ferguson however, was campaigning for a fight against Poirier back in October. Poirier ended up getting booked to fight Conor McGregor at UFC 257 in January.
