Tony Fergusson is still waiting in the wings and El Cucuy is trying to aid the UFC in finding an opponent for UFC 249. As most know, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov pulled out of his scheduled card against the 36-year-old mixed martial artist since he was unable to fly out from Russia due to the coronavirus.
One fighter that Fergusson tries to goat into facing him for UFC 249 is Conor McGregor. The Notorious seems like a sensible opponent but the Irishman passed on the invite. On Twitter, McGregor congratulated Fergusson, siding with him against Nurmagomedov. He explained how both fighters ended up in a game of chicken and the Russian was the first one to blink.
As to possibly filling in for Nurmagomedov, McGregor unsurprisingly passed up on it despite claiming he was in shape. In another Twitter post, the former two-division UFC champion said that he is happy he did not fight booked - something which he could have won if he was scheduled to see action.
“I am in shape to fight right now! At the beginning of all this, I said to myself – I’m happy I don’t have an official fight booked. If I did, I would have consumed all the incorrect data to support me taking part in the bout, and I would have followed through, competed. And won,” McGregor said.
To date, the name of Justin Geathje has surfaced as a potential opponent for Fergusson. Nothing has been set for now with UFC top brass Dana White needing to address other things. That included finding a venue for UFC 249 amid the coronavirus pandemic. Originally set for New York, the UFC president has faced heavy criticism of pushing through with the event and potentially placing fighters and officials at risk from the COVID-19 strain.
The United States has banned mass gatherings and no more than 10 people can be together at one time. If it does push through, UFC fighters will likely slug it out with no fans in attendance. However, White had previously said it would be impossible to stage fights behind closed doors. If that holds up, the UFC may end up canceling the event altogether with the pandemic unlikely to be resolved soon.
Though he did not mention it, McGregor is likely playing it safe as well like Nurmagomedov. Most are advised to stay indoors and it may be a good point for White and Fergusson to seriously consider doing the same to avoid contracting the virus.
