Khabib Nurmagomedov out, Justin Gaethje in.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is on the verge of securing a lightweight fight between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje as the latter reportedly agreed to replace Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 249.
Nurmagomedov, the reigning champion of the 155-pound class, is currently stranded in Russia as the country closes its borders due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This means the Dagestani will not be able to fly to the United States later this month for his showdown with ‘El Cucuy’ dubbed as the ‘most anticipated fight in UFC history.’
Even without the lightweight champion, the Nevada-based promotion is set to proceed with its fourth pay-per-view event this year, which will be composed of an All-American line up.
”So now I am hearing that they are looking to organize it with or without me. OK, go ahead,” Nurmagomedov said.
“Everyone should follow the laws. I am not against it, I know that fighters need to feed their families and pay their bills. I know how hard it is for the fighter. Unless they fight they aren’t getting any money.”
‘Gaethje Is In’
With ‘The Eagle’ potentially out of the picture, the UFC has offered Justin Gaethje to fight the number one lightweight contender on short notice.
No deal has been finalized yet but according to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Gaethje has already agreed to star in the main event lightweight clash while Ferguson is still weighing things out.
“So, the UFC offered Ferguson a fight against Justin Gaethje recently.
Great fight. But it’s not Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson. Gaethje is in, but Ferguson is still weighing several options, I’m told,” Helwani mentioned.
Gaethje is currently in number four in the UFC lightweight rankings and has been undefeated in his last three fights.
He has campaigned for a money fight with Conor McGregor and also sets his sights on a potential bout against the winner of the Khabib-Ferguson fight if the UFC gives ‘The Notorious’a different opponent.
Back To The Drawing Board
While the UFC 249 fight card continues to hit a snag, UFC president Dana White won’t just give up easily.
“The challenges are that every time I get something figured out, I wake up the next day and the world has completely changed again,” White said at the Heavyweight podcast (per MMA Fighting).
“Everything that I work hard on the day before, me and my crew, has now fallen apart. It literally just happened to us again today.”
“I woke up today and Khabib Nurmagomedov is in Russia and they just shut down all travel in and out of Russia.”
“I woke up this morning and the whole world f*cking changed again.”
“So back to the drawing board and we’re figuring this out right now as we’re speaking right now, I have people working on this thing as we speak.”
“Listen, I am absolutely f*cking relentless and I said that this fight is going to go on and it will.”
(Featured Image Source: YouTube/ UFC and Twitter/ BJPenn.com)