Dana White confirms Tony Ferguson will not be competing at UFC 254
After several weeks of back and forth, it looks like the Lightweight bout between Tony Ferguson and Dustin Poirier scheduled for UFC 254 is officially off. UFC president Dana White, in a recent interview with TSN, confirmed that El Cucuy would not be stepping into the Octagon on October 24th.
In the aftermath of UFC Vegas 10, Dana White confirmed that his promotion had moved on from the Tony Ferguson vs Dustin Poirier fight, after the UFC failed to negotiate with The Diamond. Following this announcement, Ferguson publicly vouched for Poirier and asked the UFC to pay the latter and make the fight.
However, judging by Dana White's latest comments, it seems as though the UFC couldn't manage to get a fight done, and White also clarified that he isn't pushing or forcing anyone to take up a fight. (H/T: MMA Fighting)
“They went quiet on us. We couldn’t get a fight done. No, those guys aren’t fighting. Listen, I leave Sunday morning at 6 o’clock for Fight Island. I need guys that want to fight. When I call you, if you want to fight, fight. If you don’t, no problem. I’m not pushing anybody to fight."- White explained to TSN when asked why Ferguson wasn’t competing at UFC 254.
Tony Ferguson was reportedly offered a fight against Michael Chandler
It was further reported that Tony Ferguson was offered a fight against UFC's newest signee Michael Chandler for UFC 254. However, the fight was never accepted by El Cucuy, and Chandler could be added to the pay-per-view as a backup for the Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje fight.
Had Tony Ferguson made an appearance at UFC 254, it would've been the first time that El Cucuy would've taken to the Octagon after UFC 249, where his winning streak was brought to an end by Justin Gaethje. As for Poirier, it remains to be seen if he can negotiate a deal with the UFC in the future and continue his quest to win the UFC Lightweight Championship.