The UFC lightweight division has been a mystery wrapped in an enigma basically ever since UFC 205. There’s no clue what multi-millionaire Conor McGregor will do, meanwhile Khabib Nurmagomedov came back with a vengeance and Tony Ferguson won the interim title, only to step on the sidelines for a bit for elbow surgery. Everything was up in the air, until today. Fresh off the heels of a report from Tass.ru that McGregor will supposedly be stripped and the UFC will move on with Nurmagomedov and Ferguson, we have just confirmed the news that is expected to be officially announced at UFC 220.

Khabib Nurmagomedov proved he is still one of the very best in the entire world after his dominating performance over Edson Barboza. He told Dana White and the UFC that he would not settle for an interim title, refusing to fight until the UFC made a decision. With his religious holiday of Ramadan approaching in May, it was a decision that needed to be done very quickly. It looks like all parties involved knew this so it was rushed to get done for UFC 223 which is slated for Brooklyn.

The timing is perfect. Interim champ Ferguson will be all healed and ready for the fight in April and it was come right before Nurmagomedov has to start fasting for the holiday. Once Conor McGregor decides if and when he can come back, it could very well set up a gigantic fight for the Russian card in September between Khabib and McGregor. That is, if Nurmagomedov can get past the very game and unorthodox Ferguson. After so many times making the match, let’s hope this one follows through so we can finally get arguably the very best lightweight MMA fight on the entire planet.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/16/2018.