What’s the story?
No. 2-ranked UFC lightweight Tony Ferguson and No. 1-ranked Khabib Nurmagomedov will meet in the co-main event of UFC 209, to determine who the interim lightweight champion of the promotion will be.
The UFC’s current undisputed lightweight champion, Conor McGregor, won the title just two months ago when he knocked out Eddie Alvarez in the second round of their meeting at UFC 205. Ferguson says that after he wins the interim title over Nurmagomedov, the UFC will strip McGregor of his title once again.
In case you didn’t know....
This wouldn’t be the first time McGregor is stripped of a title, as the UFC has stripped him of his 145-pound title that he won from Jose Aldo in December of 2015 with a 13 second knockout. Shortly after his victory over Alvarez, McGregor was stripped of his 145-pound title having not defended it in almost a year at that point.
The heart of the matter:
Here’s what Ferguson had to say about McGregor being stripped of his title (courtesy of LowKickMMA):
“I have nine fights in a row win streak. Khabib has eight fights in a row. This is the first time you guys are ever gonna see this inside the octagon.
This is for an interim title. It should be for the real shit. Am I a little pissed about it? Yeah. Is Conor gonna defend his belt, that little bitch? Probably not. He’s gonna run. Go ahead. Go run, try to box. You’ll get your ass kicked too.
And when you’re ready to come back, they’re gonna strip your belt and at 155, I’m gonna be holding it and you’re gonna be like, ‘Oh I want my belt back’ and this and that. I don’t give a shit.
The fight, the real fight, is between Conor? No. Conor, sorry buddy. The fight’s between Khabib and Ferguson.”
What’s next?
Regardless of who emerges victorious in the upcoming interim lightweight title bout between Ferguson and Nurmagomedov the winner will be almost guaranteed a shot at McGregor to unify the two titles, and both men pose serious stylistic issues for the Irishman.
Sportskeeda’s Take:
To say the UFC will strip McGregor of his lightweight title after the interim strap contest is too early to predict, however, it isn’t too far off as a possibility as he is expected to take a lengthy amount of time off to enjoy the birth of his first child.
