Chael Sonnen believes Tony Ferguson is at risk of being left in the dust a second time.
Ferguson was dealt an unfortunate hand back in April 2018. “El Cucuy” was set to face Khabib Nurmagomedov in an undisputed UFC lightweight title bout. At the time, Ferguson held interim gold. “El Cucuy” was injured after tripping over a cable and needed surgery. As a result, he was stripped of the interim gold.
Sonnen Says Ferguson May Be Victim Of ‘Screw Job’ Again
Ferguson is scheduled to compete for interim gold once again on May 9. He’ll be taking on Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC 249. Speaking to Submission Radio, Sonnen expressed his belief that Ferguson may very well get ditched again in favor of Khabib vs. Conor McGregor II (h/t Denis Shkuratov via MMAFighting.com).
“I think now is the perfect time for that [Nate Diaz Trilogy fight],” Sonnen said (transcription via Denis Shkuratov). “And look, I know everything that’s been said is we’re going to keep Conor on ice and we’re gonna put him against Khabib, the winner of Khabib-Tony in September. But of course, that was believing that Khabib was going to win.
“You have to understand, if that is still the plan, then that means we’re getting ready to pull the screw job on Tony a second time. They have promised Tony an interim title fight for the second time. The first time he did it. He never lost it. And all of a sudden that belt is gone. We as fans cannot allow that to happen. If Tony comes out of this thing, Tony needs to be fighting Khabib. And if at some point they try to slide in Conor, which is likely, maybe not likely, but possible, that means we screwed Tony a second time. We can’t let that happen.”
It’s no secret that the biggest money fight the UFC can put together is a rematch between Nurmagomedov and McGregor. The first encounter between the two did an estimated 2.4 million pay-per-view buys. UFC president Dana White has committed to booking the winner of Ferguson vs. Gaethje against Khabib but as history shows, plans can change.
