Michael Chandler accuses Tony Ferguson of turning down fight against him at UFC 254
UFC's most recent superstar recruit Michael Chandler is miffed with former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson following the latter expressing his displeasure over Chandler and the amount of money he's going to be making in his UFC debut.
Tony Ferguson also ranted at the fact that it wasn't him but the former Bellator lightweight champion Chandler who was chosen as the backup fighter for the UFC 254 main event featuring Justin Gaethje and Khabib Nurmagomedov despite never having set foot inside the Octagon before.
“Now you’re going to bring in a new dude who I have no clue who this dude is,” Ferguson said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show. “From a marketing standpoint, dude has less than 100k on Twitter. You’re going to try him more notoriety by throwing him against me and throwing him on the Khabib card. I get it. But don’t pay him more than us. He has zero time in the UFC.”
Now, it is Michael Chandler who went off on Tony Ferguson for allegedly turning down a fight against him on "The biggest card of the year".
Chandler boasts of a stellar record at Bellator and is currently on a two-fight winning streak, and both of those wins came by way of first-round KO against Sidney Outlaw and former UFC lightweight champ Benson Henderson respectively.
Why did Tony Ferguson turn down Michael Chandler?
Fight fans would want to know why Tony Ferguson turned down the offer to fight Chandler as the latter alleges because it would have made for a barnburner of a contest and the winner could be the next title contender. However, it seems like Tony Ferguson's attention lies elsewhere at the moment as the fighter sent out a threat to the headliners of UFC 254 - Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje. Tony Ferguson has his sights set on the title and plans to take on the winner of the title-unification fight.
“Justin Gaethje, you’re f*****g welcome (that) you have a belt, son. I’m gonna tell you (to) go get my belt, cause that ass gonna get f****g whipped,” Ferguson said to ESPN. “And, I’m coming for it. So both you and f****g fathead, this is a message for both you f****g knuckleheads. My mat, my f*****g time.”
With UFC president Dana White recently stating that he has got something special planned for Khabib Nurmagomedov if the latter manages to defend his title against Gaethje at UFC 254, and if things do pan out that way, could we finally see the much anticipated and equally ill-fated dream matchup between Tony Ferguson and Khabib come to fruition?
Let us know what you guys think in the comments section below.