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Tony Ferguson, Kevin Lee will fight at UFC 216 for interim lightweight title
LAS VEGAS – Move over, Conor McGregor. A second UFC lightweight champion is coming.
An interim title fight between Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee has been booked for UFC 216, UFC President Dana White told reporters on Tuesday.
White said he was unsure if the bout between Ferguson (23-3 MMA, 13-1 UFC) and Lee (16-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) would serve as the headliner for the pay-per-view event, which takes place Oct. 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Ferguson gets his second chance to win an interim UFC title after a thrice-canceled fight with undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov (24-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC). The pair were scheduled to fight for the belt at UFC 209 before Nurmagomedov was hospitalized after a bad weight-cut.
In July, UFC President Dana White said he wanted to try booking them against each other a fourth time and would consider Ferguson against red-hot prospect Justin Gaethje – who accepted an offer to coach on “The Ultimate Fighter 26” – if Nurmagomedov wasn’t ready.
It’s not clear why Nurmagomedov was taken out of consideration for the interim title. White simply said, “Khabib’s not ready.” A request for comment to Nurmagomedov’s representative went unanswered. This past week, he sparred on Twitter with Ferguson, writing, “I’m waiting for you in New York … just take this fight, everybody waiting your decision.”
Ferguson shot back, “Your (manager Ali Abdelaziz) Informed @ufc U Are Not Well Enough To Fight Me At MSG, Turned Down The Fight On Your Behalf. Don’t Fool Your Fans.”
Nurmagomedov responded, “You don’t need my manager, I’m the one who fights with you. Take the fight or tell fans that you looking for easy way.”
Even with Lee getting the interim opportunity, Nurmagomedov still appears to have other lucrative options. White recently told MMAjunkie that current undisputed champ McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) had the undefeated fighter in his crosshairs, which McGregor later confirmed while on the world tour for his upcoming boxing showdown with Floyd Mayweather.
With the addition, the latest UFC 216 card now includes:
- Tony Ferguson vs. Kevin Lee – for interim lightweight title
- Will Brooks vs. Nik Lentz
- Bobby Green vs. Lando Vannata
- Beneil Dariush vs. Evan Dunham
- Thales Leites vs. Brad Tavares
- Magomed Bibulatov vs. John Moraga
- Marco Beltran vs. Matt Schnell
- Mark Godbeer vs. Walt Harris
- Jessica Eye vs. Paige VanZant
For more on UFC 216, visit the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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