With UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor currently taking a hiatus from competition to father his first child, the lightweight limelight is shining on two men: Dagestan’s Khabib Nurmagomedov, and California’s Tony Ferguson.<\/p>\n
Under normal circumstances, either man could easily be argued to be deserving of the next shot at the lightweight title.\u00a0Because the champion is currently out of the picture, however, they’ve shifted their focus to one another. For weeks, it has been rumored that the two streaking lightweights will fight for the division’s interim title sometime in the first quarter of 2017<\/a>, and they’ve spiced these rumors up with plenty of trash talk on social media.<\/a><\/p>\n Regrettably, negotiations for this fight seem to have hit a standstill<\/a>, as Ferguson is not satisfied with the amount of money he’d be paid for this fight under his current contract<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to UFC President Dana White, Ferguson is not opposed to the fight in theory, but won’t accept it unless he’s paid the exact same amount as Nurmagomedov.<\/p>\n Dana White says Tony Ferguson agreed to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov but only for exactly what Khabib makes. Says "that ain't happening."<\/p>\n — Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) December 28, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n