Things are complicated at the top of the lightweight division. The reigning champ Khabib Nurmagomedov is adamant that he won’t fight until November, standing instead in solidarity with his suspended teammates. Conor McGregor’s future is as nebulous as ever. Dustin Poirier will battle UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway for the interim lightweight belt in the summer. And Tony Ferguson, the bona fide, irrefutable number one contender? Well.. who really knows?
Amid all of the uncertainty atop the lightweight division, Tony Ferguson has been left without an opponent; without any kind of clear direction.
While it’s possible that he will simply sit out and wait for the smoke to clear, it’s starting to sound like he might undertake a more drastic strategy: a move up to the welterweight division.
Speaking on Twitter on Wednesday morning, Tony Ferguson announced that he is preparing to put on some “serious muscle.”
“Time to gain some serious muscle,” he wrote.
Ferguson has always been one of the bigger lightweights on the UFC roster, so the prospect of his gaining more mass certainly seems to suggest a move up to a heavier weight class.
Furthermore, the top lightweight contender has fought at welterweight previously, even winning The Ultimate Fighter in that division.
Tony Ferguson is currently on a ridiculous 11-fight win-streak. Highlights of this incredible run include triumphs over top contenders and former champions like Anthony Pettis, Kevin Lee, Rafael dos Anjos, Edson Barboza, and Josh Thomson. He’s currently 24-3 overall.
Do you think we’ll see him in the welterweight division soon?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/6/2019.