Ever since he won the UFC interim lightweight title with a submission of Kevin Lee, Tony Ferguson has been vocal in his belief that undisputed lightweight champ Conor McGregor should either defend his title, or vacate it. Really, the interim champ rarely goes more than a few hours without using his patented #DefendOrVacate hashtag on Twitter
“All Clear & Ready To Rock” Doc Cleared Me To Start Training & Sparring 💎💎💎 Fuck Yeah 2018 #DefefdorVacate #AndTheNew #TonyFergusonMMA SnapJitsu™ My Mat. #Back2Work – Thee Champ 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/Rbz7mRkgWS
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) January 3, 2018
“SwaggerJack” @thenotoriousmma #fakenews #DefendorVacate Fake. pic.twitter.com/VDQnMxd8WZ
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) December 31, 2017
Not Til He Vacates #DefendorVacate 🇲🇽🇮🇪🇺🇸 https://t.co/ngf7oNJM33
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) December 22, 2017
#DefendorVacate MF’er 🖕🏽😎 🇺🇸🏆✌️ https://t.co/MqAQHN4xzI
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) December 22, 2017
Apparently the ceaseless calls for McGregor to vacate his title are starting to get to the Irishman’s head coach, John Kavanagh.
DefendorVacateDefendorVacateDefendorVacateDefendorVacateDefendorVacateDefendorVacateDefendorVacateDefendorVacateDefendorVacateDefendorVacateDefendorVacateDefendorVacateDefendorVacateDefendorVacateDefendorVacateDefendorVacateDefendorVacateDefendorVacate pic.twitter.com/mZ8G8bzI1l
— Coach Kavanagh (@John_Kavanagh) January 6, 2018
Having seen Kavanagh’s The Walking Dead inspired Tweet, Ferguson has now responded, assuring that he’s still gunning for McGregor, and that Kavanagh is just “small potatoes.”
“190lbs of Pure Awesomeness” Day 2 #TonyFergusonMMA Coming After Yo’ Ass @TheNotoriousMMA #DefendorVacate Pussy —> #Vacate Looks Great @ParadigmSM #GP …And To You @JohnKavanagh You Are Small Potatoes Coach Cavalier… I Can’t Wait To Add Your SBG Pin To My Map 🖕🏽😎 Sign It. pic.twitter.com/Tyligtctni
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) January 7, 2018
While it initially sounded likely that Tony Ferguson would serve as Conor McGregor’s next opponent, the recent comeback of Khabib Nurmagomedov and the continued hiatus of McGregor have thrown a wrench in that plan. Instead, it now seems as though Ferguson will defend his interim strap against Nurmagomedov sometime in the next few months, while it remains difficult to determine what the next move will be for McGregor.
Would you rather see Tony Ferguson fight Conor McGregor or Khabib Nurmagomedov next? Join the conversation in the comments section.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/7/2018.