Tony Ferguson appears to be in good spirits despite losing out on Dustin Poirier fight at UFC 254

Former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson appears to be in good spirits despite losing out on a potential fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 254.

Earlier this week ESPN‘s Ariel Helwani reported that Dustin Poirier was headed back to his home in Louisiana after negotiations for a fight with ‘El Cucuy’ had fallen through.

The Diamond is heading home 🏠 (via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/v3qMTIvfY4

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 10, 2020

“The UFC and I didn’t come to terms,” Dustin Poirier explained. “I will not be fighting on October 24.”

The disappointing news came just twenty-four hours after ‘The Diamond’ revealed that the UFC would have to up their offer for a fight with Tony Ferguson to come to fruition.

“I just need to be compensated if they want this fight. Simple as that.” Poirier explained. “I’m a prizefighter and the prize needs to be right.”

The previously proposed Poirier vs. Ferguson fight would have been a massive contribution to October’s highly anticipated ‘UFC 254: Khabib vs Gaethje’ event.

Unfortunately for fight fans that possibility is no longer in the cards. Despite the disappointing news that he won’t be facing a fellow former interim title holder in Poirier on October 24, Tony Ferguson appears to be in good spirits. ‘El Cucuy’ shared the following post on his official Instagram page just hours ago.

“No Flex🦸‍♂️Zone Friday”🌱 Crew, A Copycat Is The Best Form Of Flattery. Set The Pace So High The Opposition Has No Choice But To Follow Suit. Out🎓Smart, Out👣Work, Out🎶Dance & Out🕺Hustle The Competition # Be🍃Phenomenal Mi Gente & Have A Great Day ⚔️🕶 -CSO- 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 Champ Shit Only™️ # Black&GoldBaby 🥇”

Ferguson suffered his first loss in eight years when was defeated by Justin Gathje via fifth round TKO in his most recent Octagon appearance at UFC 249. Prior to the setback, ‘El Cucuy’ had strung together an amazing win streak which included victories over Kevin Lee, Rafael dos Anjos, Josh Thomson, among others.

Meanwhile, Dustin Poirier was most recently seen in action this past June where he defeated Dan Hooker in a ‘fight of the year’ performance. That victory was preceded by a submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242.

UFC 254 is set to take place October 24 on UFC Fight Island. The event is slated to be headlined by a lightweight title unification bout featuring reigning division kingpin Khabib Nurmagomedov taking on interim title holder Justin Gaethje.

Are you surprised that the UFC was unable to get a fight between Dustin Poirier and Tony Ferguson finalized for UFC 254 this October? Share your thoughts in the comments section PENN Nation!

on September 11, 2020