As Tony Ferguson inches closer to a lightweight clash against Michael Chandler, Dana White offered fans some insight into his position in the title picture. He admitted that Ferguson was a ways away from bagging a shot at divisional gold.
While in conversation with Nik Hobbs for Sky Sports, Dana White noted that a number of fighters had a stronger claim at a shot at the lightweight strap over Ferguson.
“I wouldn’t say he’s one win away. No. I mean, you got, you know, [Michael Chandler] ahead of him. You got [Beneil Dariush]. You got [Islam Makhachev], [Dustin Poirier], [Justin Gaethje]. There’s a lot of people ahead of him.”
Tony Ferguson is currently ranked No.7 in the UFC’s lightweight division. However, ‘El Cucuy’ is in a slump of sorts, having suffered three losses on the trot.
Ferguson was initially finished by Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 in the fifth round of their scrap. The loss cost him the interim UFC lightweight title. The setback also halted his 12-fight winning streak.
‘El Cucuy’ subsequently suffered two unanimous decision losses at the hands of Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush at UFC 256 and UFC 262, respectively.
Dana White on the Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson showdown
In the same interaction with Nik Hobbs, Dana White offered his take on the prospects of the upcoming clash between Tony Ferguson and Michael Chandler.
He admitted that the bout is an impeccable stylistic matchup that has the makings of a historic showdown. White drew parallels between Chandler vs. Ferguson’s clash with the UFC 268 scrap between Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler.
“I mean, we knew, going into the Gaethje fight with Chandler, that it was gonna probably be Fight of the Night. It ended up being a Fight of the Year candidate. Might even be a Fight of All Time candidate and I think you’re going to see the same thing with this fight. I think this fight’s going to be unbelievable, action-packed, knock down, drag them out fun.”
Tony Ferguson and Michael Chandler are currently hurtling towards a lightweight co-main event bout that is set to take place at UFC 274. The event will be hosted by the Footprint Center in Phoenix on May 7, 2022.
Watch Dana White’s interaction with Nik Hobbs below: