In case you’ve been out of the loop, an interim lightweight title bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson is not happening tomorrow night (March 4).
“The Eagle” and “El Cucuy” were set to throw down inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada in the co-main event of UFC 209. Nurmagomedov struggled to make weight and fell ill. He spent a few hours in the hospital and while he has been discharged, he will not be able to compete.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White had plans on booking the winner of that bout to face Conor McGregor in a unification bout later this year. Those plans have obviously been put on hold.
UFC 209 will move on without Nurmagomedov and Ferguson, who has been pulled from the card as well. The rest of the bouts will go on as planned barring a freak accident or a last minute illness the day of the event.
During a media conference promoting Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre, White admitting that the situation in the lightweight division isn’t ideal (via MMAFighting.com):
“It’s obviously a huge blow, and I don’t know right now. We’ve got to get through tomorrow night and do the fight, and then I’ll figure out what’s going to go on with those guys.”
