Tony Ferguson’s title hopes may have been dashed when he was TKO’d by Justin Gaethje back in May, but the former lightweight titleholder still wants to fight current champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and has also named Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier as other opponents he’d like to step into the Octagon against.
“They’re both decent fighters,” Ferguson said of McGregor and Poirier during an ESPN interview. “They’re both good. We’re all elite and top five for a reason. As far as fights go, if Conor wants to fight, I’m down for that. I’d love to fight a southpaw. I’d do really well. I knocked Aaron Riley’s jaw in that one on accident, so I mean, when it comes down to me fighting stand-up, you gotta remember when I fought Edson Barboza. It’s a lot different. This mix and matching kind of stuff like that, if it does happen again, cool man. I’m already used to it.
“Doesn’t matter. Opponent switches, COVID, anything else wants to pop up, we’re used to it now. You want to give me Conor; you give me Conor. You want to give me Poirier; we’ll make it happen. Then we’ll fight for the winner of the Gaethje and Khabib fight,” he continued.
“I would love to compete against Khabib, Poirier, McGregor. Those are the three right there. Why? Talent-wise, that’s why. Not because of any other ways or means. Because of the talent and the athletic respect that I have for their talent that they have in this sport.”
it remains to be seen whether any of those fights materialize, with Khabib now scheduled to fight Justin Gaethje in October, Poirier siting back waiting on a blockbuster fight and McGregor currently claiming to be retired, but one way or another it seems Ferguson is aiming to be back before 2020 ends.
“Expect me back this year,” ferguson stated.
