Dana White appears to be done trying to make Khabib vs. Ferguson happen.
The UFC has attempted to schedule a fight between UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson five times in as many years, and each time the bout has been canceled due to various reasons.
White held a Q&A session on Reddit on Wednesday, and he was asked if he was confident the fight would be scheduled for a sixth time at some point in 2020.
“Not very,” White wrote. “I’m afraid what will happen if we try to make that fight happen again.”
In the first four attempts in scheduling the fight, Nurmagomedov and Ferguson each pulled out twice due to injuries or health issues. Most recently, the two were booked to fight at the original UFC 249 scheduled for April 18, but Nurmagomedov ultimately decided not to travel from Russia during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and the event was later postponed.
With the champion observing Ramadan and not planning to fight until the summer, Ferguson will step into the octagon against Justin Gaethje for the interim belt on May 9 in Jacksonville at UFC 249. If Ferguson wins the interim title, he will likely fight Nurmagomedov at some point to unify the belt. That said, White seems ecstatic about Nurmagomedov having a lucrative rematch with an old foe.
“Conor (vs.) Khabib,” he wrote. “Conor wants that rematch so bad and I would love to see it.”
