Despite being on an 11-fight winning streak and being the current No.1 contender at lightweight, Tony Ferguson won’t be competing for the interim 155lb title against featherweight champion Max Holloway at UFC 236 in April, with Dustin Poirier getting the opportunity instead.
According to Dana White, Ferguson was offered the fight first, but he turned it down, and judging from a recent post from the fighter on social media prior to this fight being announced, that’s likely due to being unhappy with the financial aspect of the deal.
“I Have Been Offered A Fight, But Not Sure If It Meets Our Standards Crew,” Ferguson wrote on Twitter earlier in the week. “We Deserve Better For The Amount Of Work & Supoort We Put In. Team El Cucuy- Champ Shit Only @AudieAttar.”
Now that the UFC have moved on and signed Poirier to fight for the belt instead, Ferguson has issued another statement.
“We Took Some Unneeded Damage This Past Year,” Ferguson wrote on Instagram. “Recovery From The Knee Surgery & Battling Through Adversity Really Put A Damper On The Overall Mood These Last Few Months. We’re Working Harder To Be Better Than Yesterday Crew- I Make Lots Of Mistakes, Nobody’s Perfect 👏 Have A Great Weekend, Be Safe & Stay Warm We Got Work To Do 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽.”
