Dana White: Tony Ferguson Will Not Be Stripped Of Interim Title

Tony Ferguson, in fact, won’t be stripped of the lightweight title after all.

Ferguson was slated to take on top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov at the upcoming UFC 223 pay-per-view event. This is when it was revealed that Ferguson suffered an injury and had to pull out of the fight.

UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway stepped up on six days notice to accept this fight and save this pay-per-view by competing against Nurmagomedov.

It’s been well documented that the promotion will strip Conor McGregor of the UFC lightweight title.

McGregor has not been seen in the Octagon since at UFC 205 when he won the lightweight title from Eddie Alvarez. McGregor then fought in a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.

Once it was revealed that Ferguson wouldn’t be fighting for the real belt, many believed that he would be stripped of the interim title.

However, that’s not the case according to UFC President Dana White. The UFC boss made it clear during Wednesday’s UFC 223 press conference.

“There’s no stripping. We’re not stripping Tony Ferguson. Tony Ferguson isn’t being stripped. The only person here who is losing a belt is Conor. Conor’s losing the belt, these two are fighting for the belt.

“The interim belt that he had, those two [Nurmagomedov and Ferguson] were supposed to fight — doesn’t happen. One of these guys will be the champion,” said White referring to Nurmagomedov and Holloway. “Tony is still the No. 1 contender.”

“It’s the last fight on earth that I want to make again. This will be five times — that’s insane — but obviously, however this thing plays out on Saturday, we’ll go from there. Tony is still the number one ranked guy in the world either way no matter who wins, so believe me I’ll deal with that when it’s time to deal with it,” he said.

UFC 223 is set to take place on Saturday, April 7, 2018, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.