The Return of Tony Ferguson Excites and Complicates

The Return of Tony Ferguson Excites and Complicates

With Tony Ferguson announcing he is free to return after being out of action since defeating Kevin Lee at UFC 216 last October due to knee surgery, his re-introduction to the most stacked division in the UFC adds even further interest and added complications also.

Khabib Nurmagomedov makes his 1st defence of his UFC lightweight title against the returning Conor McGregor at UFC 229 in October and in a simple world Ferguson should be the next in line.

But the lightweight title picture is far from simple. If Khabib and McGregor ends up being a one-sided affair then the loser will surely have to earn another chance, you know the old fashion way, and get back in line.

But obviously if we get something different, and it ends up being a classic we will almost certainly get an immediate rematch more so if McGregor loses, normal rules don’t apply with McGregor remember.

Dustin Poirier and Nate Diaz meet a few weeks later at UFC 230 and a Diaz and a McGregor win in their respective fights would almost certainly end up in the trilogy fight.

A Poirier win however, wouldn’t guarantee him a title shot in my view, it’s not only a case of being good, being a needle mover helps.

Georges St-Pierre has stated his desire to return and meet the winner of Khabib and McGregor, but even in an era where the UFC are wanting the superfights, I’m not convinced GSP will get his wish, unless McGregor wins and Diaz doesn’t, then it becomes far more likely.

But the return of Ferguson adds another dimension to the snake-pit of a lightweight division. But who does he face on his return. With most of the top contenders already booked up, there seems very few options in the short-term.

Whoever wins out of James Vick or Justin Gaethje is an option, but it would mean an extremely quick turnaround for the winner if we are looking at November for Ferguson’s return.

The most viable option looks like being Al Iaquinta. The pair have history via social media and the fight would be an easy sell and both are in need of an opponent. Iaquinta told Ariel Helwani this week he wants the fight and says he feels healthier than he has in years, looks like we are good to go, even though Ferguson has seemingly turned the fight down in their latest Twitter exchange.

But whoever Ferguson fights and whoever is left standing out of Khabib, McGregor, Poirier and Diaz there are plenty of top quality fights still to be made and who can confidently predict who will be the UFC lightweight champion in 12 months time.

UFC LIGHTWEIGHT RANKINGS:

C Khabib Nurmagomedov 26-0-0
1 Conor McGregor 21-3-0
2 Tony Ferguson 24-3-0
3 Dustin Poirier 24-5-0
4 Eddie Alvarez 29-6-0
5 Kevin Lee 17-3-0
6 Edson Barboza 19-6-0
7 Justin Gaethje 18-2-0
8 Anthony Pettis 21-7-0
9 Al Iaquinta 13-4-1
10 James Vick 13-1-0
11 Nate Diaz 20-11-0
12 Michael Chiesa 14-4-0
13 Alexander Hernandez 10-1-0
14 Dan Hooker 18-7-0
15 Francisco Trinaldo 22-6