Dana White Confirms Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje Official For UFC 249
UFC president Dana White has confirmed that Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje will meet on April 18.
The pair will headline UFC 249 in a bout that will now take place for the interim lightweight title. However, a location has not been revealed at the time of writing.
“The fight is signed and is 100% ON LIVE on ESPN somewhere on EARTH!!!! ?@TonyFergusonXT vs @Justin_Gaethje is LIVE on @espn+ PPV April 18th for the interim lightweight belt!”
UFC 249 was originally set to be headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson. However, Nurmagomedov is stuck in Russia due to a cross-border travel ban that was enforced last week. He later announced he would not be taking part anymore.
Gaethje was quickly offered as a replacement opponent for Ferguson; however, the latter was waiting on a location before signing a deal. It appears the location is close to being finalized now.
This will be the second time Ferguson will be fighting for the interim title. He became interim lightweight champion in 2017 when he defeated Kevin Lee. He was later stripped following his injury before his UFC 223 fight with Nurmagomedov in 2018.
More updates are expected on the UFC 249 card.
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