Khabib Nurmagomedov has revealed the potential date and venue for his next title defence opposite Tony Ferguson.
Nurmagomedov continued his hot streak after making short work of Dustin Poirier in their main event clash at UFC 242 last September.
In 28 professional bouts, the bear-wrestling machine kept his unblemished record intact and has unified the lightweight titles.
For his next title-retention bid, Khabib is likely to take on the number one contender, Tony Ferguson.
The lightweight pair is tied for the most active winning streak at 155 pounds, with 12 straight victories.
Though no official deal has been made yet, the Nurmagomedov vs Ferguson clash looks to be one of the most highly anticipated title fights in the UFC.
Titanic Clash
According to the lightweight champion himself, his much-awaited showdown with ‘El Cucuy’ will go down in New York in April 2020.
In a recent Q and A in Uzbekistan, Nurmagomedov divulged the details and said Brooklyn will play host to the title clash.
“Even if they (Vegas) apologize or not, we found a new venue for the fight,” he said, (transcript from BJPenn.com)
“It’s going to be in Brooklyn most likely, I’m not sure about the date yet.”
“We’re still discussing it with the UFC but it looks like it will happen at the beginning of April.”
UFC president Dana White has also opened up about the possibilities of holding Khabib’s title defence in either March or April.
“Yeah. We’re working on that,” White claimed during the UFC 244 post event wrap up.
“You’ve got Tony versus Khabib, you’ve got [Jorge] Masvidal out there right now, you’ve got Israel Adesanya who is saying ‘Everybody thinks Yoel Romero is so tough, I’ll fight Yoel Romero.’”
“And then you’ve got [Paulo] Costa out there too. There’s a lot of good fights next. And oh, we haven’t talked about Jones.”
“Then you’ve still got Stipe [Miocic] and [Daniel] Cormier again. There’s so many good fights next year.”
Series Of Pullouts
While anticipations are high for this lightweight bout, MMA fans are also hoping that both fighters would make it to the actual fight.
It has been four times since the potential matchup was scrapped.
In 2015, Khabib and Tony were scheduled to meet at The Ultimate Fighter 22 finale but the Russian was replaced by Edson Barboza after sustaining an injury in October.
A year after, the UFC booked them for UFC on Fox 19 only the fight to be scratched as Ferguson had a lung issue.
Booked for the third time, Ferguson and Nurmagomedov were slated to headline UFC 209, with the interim title on the line, but Nurmagomedov pulled out due to health issues brought by weight cutting.
And then just last April 2018, their UFC 223 clash did not happen after Ferguson tore his fibular collateral ligament.
Will the fight between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson finally happen next year? Who do you think will win the title fight?
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson)