Breaking! Dana White addresses the UFC’s complicated lightweight title picture
Earlier this evening news broke that current UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson had suffered a knee injury and was no longer able to compete against Khabib Nurmagomedov in the headliner of next weekend’s UFC 223 event in Brooklyn.
UFC President Dana White quickly addressed multiple reports from Brett Okamoto and Ariel Helwani and announced that “yes” Tony Ferguson was out of UFC 223 while adding that “El Cucuy” would now be replaced by current UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The brash UFC boss also announced that the “Blessed” vs. “The Eagle” matchup would be for the promotions undisputed lightweight championship.
BOOM!!!!!! We got Khabib vs The Champ Max Holloway for the 155lb title this Saturday in Brooklyn New York!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/quvI3UqGXh
— danawhite (@danawhite) April 1, 2018
With that said, many fans were left wondering if Dana White’s recent comments meant that the UFC had officially stripped Conor McGregor of his lightweight world title.
While neither Dana White nor the promotion has officially come out and said that Conor McGregor has been “stripped” of his belt, the UFC boss did tell ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that the winner of Holloways vs. Nurmagomedov will be crowned the UFC’s lightweight champion.
As for Tony Ferguson’s interim lightweight title, well according to Dana White “That goes away”.
This is what Dana White told me about Tony Ferguson’s interim champion status. If this holds up, that’s a tough way for a six-month title reign to end. pic.twitter.com/mxfkfBUQAZ
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 1, 2018
“That goes away,” Dana said of Tony Ferguson’s interim lightweight title. “This fight (Holloway vs. Khabib) is for the title. The winner of this will be the champion!” – Dana White
Do you think the UFC will really strip both Tony Ferguson and Conor McGregor of their respective lightweight titles? Sound off PENN Nation!