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What's the story?
Tony Ferguson appears to be the latest top-level UFC fighter to have lost patience with former lightweight champion Conor McGregor.
During a recent conversation with Ariel Helwani on ESPN about the lightweight division and his future plans in the sport, Ferguson took a moment to address the status of McGregor and his current standing in the UFC.
"Recently he was trying to fight Mark Wahlberg, maybe that's the fight for him. Dude's got a couple things, he's making his money, he's doing his thing. I don't know if he wants to fight no more. He's like one of those ex-girlfriends. I stop worrying about that dude. At first he was in line fighting for the title but once he became irrelevant, I stopped caring about the dude. He's mentioning my name? Get the f*** out of here, dude. Come on."
In case you didn't know...
Despite having only fought inside the UFC once in the last 3 years, McGregor still has an undeniable star power and ability to draw eyes to mixed martial arts.
However, it does seem that the more active members of the UFC roster have finally lost patience with the Irishman, with Khabib Nurmagomedov, Nate Diaz and now Tony Ferguson all publicly questioning how he fits into the MMA world after such a long period of inactivity.
The heart of the matter
It is hard to blame the likes of Ferguson and Khabib for looking to move on with their careers without the status of McGregor constantly hanging over their heads.
However, the harsh reality is that MMA is almost entirely dictated by money, and no-one in this sport has delivered more money than McGregor. So it comes as no surprise that Ferguson left the door open to a potential match with the Irishman in the future during his interview with ESPN.
"If push comes to shove, I see him fighting the loser of this next fight this weekend. This is professional, the UFC, it's why we have rankings. I fight for the title, if he wins, maybe I give him a shot."
What's next?
The future of the lightweight division entirely depends on the outcome of the main event at UFC 242 this weekend, where Khabib Nurmagomedov will defend his belt against Dustin Poirier.
