Tony Ferguson eyes striking battle in UFC return: ‘I would love to be able to fight Dustin Poirier’
Former interim UFC lightweight titleholder, Tony Ferguson has confirmed he would like to share the Octagon with fellow former interim gold holder, Dustin Poirier in his Octagon return – with intentions of securing a “stand-up” fight in his UFC comeback.
Ferguson, the current #9 ranked lightweight contender, suffered his fourth consecutive loss earlier this month on the main card of UFC 274, dropping a brutal second round front kick knockout defeat against one-time title challenger, Michael Chandler.
The defeat followed prior one-sided defeats for the Oxnard native against Beneil Dariush, former undisputed champion, Charles Oliveira, and former interim champion, Justin Gaethje.
As for Poirier, the Louisana puncher has himself been sidelined since UFC 269 back in December, suffering an eventual third round standing rear-naked choke defeat against the aforenoted, Oliveira in the pair’s lightweight championship battle.
Confirming his intentions to make an Octagon return despite his continued setback, Ferguson has targeted a fight against his fellow former interim champion, Poirier – maintaining he will inform the UFC when he is ready to make a return to active competition.
“I would love to be able to fight Dustin Poirier,” Tony Ferguson told MMA Junkie during a recent interview. “Obviously, he likes to go stand-up. A stand-up battle wouldn’t be bad.”
“When I’m ready to fight, I will let the UFC know,” Tony Ferguson explained. “I guarantee you they’ll let me know, too. ‘Hey, this is who we have.’”
Ferguson and Poirier were initially expected to fight at UFC 254 back in October 2020 in Abu Dhabi, UAE – however, reports detailed at the time how financial terms between Poirier and the UFC remained a sticking point for the long-awaited matchup, resulting in its eventual shelving.
Senior writer for FightBook MMA. An aspiring mixed martial arts reporter based in Ireland. Producer of news articles, interviews, opinion features, and exclusive features such as, ‘The Fallout’, ‘The Breakdown, and, ‘This Week In MMA’.
