Tony Ferguson is one of the best Lightweights around. However, he has not fought since his loss at UFC 249 to Justin Gaethje. Despite matchups with Dustin Poirier being announced, Ferguson and the UFC couldn’t come to a deal due to financial issues. Ferguson feels he is undervalued by the promotion, especially after they rolled out the red carpet for Michael Chandler.

Rising Lightweight fighter, Islam Makhachev is in a bad predicament of his own. His UFC 254 fight got canceled after opponent Rafael dos Anjos tested positive for COVID-19. Makhachev’s team has been looking for a replacement. But his manager may have already found the right man.

Ali Abdelaziz manages the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and many other top UFC fighters. He also manages Islam Makhachev and has tried to get his young fighter a massive opportunity. He offered a $100k if Tony takes a short-notice fight against Islam for UFC 254. While it may not be legal for a manager to pay another fighter, this callout has stirred the pot in an interesting fight.

Tony Ferguson risks his ranking and faces Makhachev?

Fights against lower-ranked opposition are always tricky. If the higher ranked fighter wins, people discredit it because of the opponent’s rank. However, the lower-ranked fighter can make history at the expense of the higher-ranked fighter. It is usually a lose-lose. Ferguson has enough money and offering a 100k for a fight like this might not be what Ferguson is looking for.

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Obviously, Tony will look to return to the title picture. Whether a win against Makhachev helps his case is unclear. If he loses, he can kiss that title shot goodbye. But if he wins, the UFC could genuinely sell Tony as a title contender again. Makhachev winning adds another lion to the bottleneck of top UFC Lightweight fighters.

Makhachev is a fighter people avoid, but Tony Ferguson doesn’t avoid anyone. While he wants to maintain his value for the UFC, taking a fight like this shows more about his personality than anything else. However, it is unlikely that we see Tony step into the Octagon for a fight against Makhachev. But it is Tony Ferguson, and ‘El Cucuy’ is anything but predictable.