Dana White Responds To Narrative That He Continues To Deny Tony Ferguson Title Shot
UFC President Dana White has responded to a certain claim regarding who will be next in line for a title shot in the lightweight division.
Khabib Nurmagomedov faces Dustin Poirier at the UFC 242 pay-per-view (PPV) event later this year. Many fight fans believe that Tony Ferguson should be next in line for a title shot. While talking on Instagram live recently, White set the record straight by stating that the promotion won’t make the call on who is next in line until UFC 242 takes place:
“He just looked phenomenal in the fight [against Donald Cerrone]. I just posted something the other day about his last seven opponents. The guy’s a stud and he’s in a good place right now mentally and physically and we’ll see how this thing plays out in September and then we’ll go from there,” White said (H/T to MMA Fighting).
“Everybody’s acting like I’ve denied Tony his shot at the title. It’s just that he’s had a bad string of luck and things haven’t gone his way. But everybody’s terrorizing me like I’m not giving him what he deserves. If you’re a fan of the sport, you saw how this whole thing played out. That’s how we got where we are now.“
Despite having one of the most impressive win streaks in recent memory under the UFC banner, a title shot continues to elude Ferguson. After putting together the lengthy winning streak, Ferguson’s latest fight ended in controversial fashion. Ferguson beat Donald Cerrone in a lightweight bout at the UFC 238 PPV event at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
At the end of the second round, Ferguson landed a foul strike. Cerrone blew his nose in between rounds and his right eye was swollen badly. The fight was stopped by the doctor. There had been talk of doing a rematch, but the more appealing option would be to have Ferguson take on the winner of Khabib vs. Poirier.
