A highly anticipated lightweight fight between former interim title holders Dustin Poirier and Tony Ferguson is no longer being targeted for UFC 254.

According to ESPN‘s Ariel Helwani, Poirier is headed back to his home in Louisiana after negotiations for a fight with ‘El Cucuy’ fell through.

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“The UFC and I didn’t come to terms,” Dustin Poirier explained. “I will not be fighting on October 24.”

The disappointing news comes one day after ‘The Diamond’ revealed that the UFC would have to up their offer for a fight with Ferguson to come to fruition.

“I just need to be compensated if they want this fight. Simple as that.” Poirier explained. “I’m a prizefighter and the prize needs to be right.”

Dustin Poirier was most recently seen in action this past June where he defeated Dan Hooker in a ‘fight of the year’ performance. That victory was preceded by a submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242.

Meanwhile, Tony Ferguson suffered his first loss in eight years when was defeated by Justin Gathje via fifth round TKO at UFC 249. Prior to the setback, ‘El Cucuy’ had strung together an amazing win streak which included victories over Kevin Lee, Rafael dos Anjos, Josh Thomson, among others.

UFC 254 is set to take place October 24 on UFC Fight Island. The event is slated to be headlined by a lightweight title unification bout featuring reigning division kingpin Khabib Nurmagomedov taking on interim title holder Justin Gaethje.

Are you surprised that the UFC was unable to get a fight between Dustin Poirier and Tony Ferguson finalized for UFC 254 this October? Share your thoughts in the comments section PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on September 10, 2020

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