UFC 209 was one of the many events at which Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson had to take place. The two men terrorized the division simultaneously however, they never crossed paths. A fight between Tony and Khabib is perhaps one fight that MMA fans wanted to happen but never took place- and by the looks of it will never take place either. 

Tony Ferguson took to twitter to share a video of the faceoff between the two men at media day for UFC 209. The caption read, “UFC209” Fathead Pulled Out A Day Before Interim Title Fight. He Did Not Make Weighins Due To His Manager Not Following UFC Protocol. We Were Offered A Different Opponent At Same Weight (155lbs) w/ Different Pay & No Interim Title # MyFavorite SnapJitsu. -CSO-”

During the weight face-off, ‘El Cucuy’ can be heard taunting Khabib about his weight cut. The fight between the two men at UFC 209 was for the interim title since Conor McGregor was busy pursuing a fight with Floyd Mayweather. 

However, the fight was canceled as Khabib was hospitalized due to a bad weight cut. Dana White later blasted Khabib and his team for going rogue and not consulting the UFC doctors before heading to the hospital. 

Tony was offered a fight on the same card. However, he did not accept the fight as it was not for the interim title and he had prepared for Khabib. 

What is next for Tony Ferguson?

A once seemingly unbeatable fighter in Tony Ferguson has now suffered two back-to-back losses against Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje for the first time in his career. It was not just that he was beaten, but that manner that he was beaten in both fights that raises concerns about Ferguson’s time left in the sport. 

While ‘El Cucuy’ has maintained that he is nowhere near done, the UFC president would not be keen on Tony continuing to fight if he is going to absorb the kind of damage he has in his last two fights once again. 

Therefore, it seems as though the next fight Tony Ferguson has in the UFC might be ‘make or break’ for the Mexican-American fighter.