Thursday evening, news surfaced that top ranked lightweights Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson would be stepping into the Octagon at UFC 209 on March 4th for a highly anticipated showdown for the interim lightweight title.
The announcement came after a period of speculation, where it appeared as though Ferguson would not be taking the bout. After the pair verbally agreed to the scrap, Ferguson expressed his desire to hold out for more money. After UFC President Dana White revealed that Ferguson wouldn’t be getting the same money as ‘The Eagle’, it was confirmed that Ferguson had accepted the bout.
Immediately the MMA community took to Twitter to react to the booking:
We got a fight! @TeamKhabib & @TonyFergusonXT will meet at #UFC209 in Las Vegas for the interim LW title! https://t.co/kOnfPzkCKy pic.twitter.com/u594u8EWJ0
— #UFCPhoenix (@ufc) January 13, 2017
TFerg- #KeepPushing #UFC209 pic.twitter.com/D9J5FI5my6
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) January 12, 2017
— Coach Kavanagh (@John_Kavanagh) January 13, 2017
What a card to be apart of #UFC209 @UFC @DuelloSportsMgt https://t.co/LyVOfOwpp7
— Mark Godbeer (@MarkGodbeerUK) January 13, 2017
— Artem Lobov (@RusHammerMMA) January 13, 2017
Fuck an interm belt! #ufc #wolftickets #slangin
— kajan johnson (@IamRagin) January 13, 2017
So they should have them fight for the number one spot. You dont need to create a fake belt. https://t.co/6Cu8l7EnMv
— kajan johnson (@IamRagin) January 13, 2017