UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and former UFC Interim Lightweight Champion Tony Ferguson were supposed to meet in the main event of UFC 249, but Nurmagomedov would be replaced by Justin Gaethje due to the coronavirus pandemic.
There is still a chance that Nurmagomedov and Ferguson could fight down the line, but UFC President Dana White says it’s unlikely the two are going to meet in 2020.
“Not very,” White said during a Reddit AMA (via Cole Shelton of BJPenn.com). “I’m afraid of what will happen next if we try to make that happen again.”
The promotion has now tried to book Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson a total of five times, but a variety of issues have prevented those encounters from taking place. There is also a chance the fight won’t happen this year if Gaethje is victorious at UFC 249, because that would earn him the next shot at Nurmagomedov and the UFC Lightweight Title.
UFC 249 takes place on Saturday, May 9 from the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida with Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on ESPN+.
