Dustin Poirier Won't Be Fighting Tony Ferguson At UFC 254

Dustin Poirier and Tony Ferguson won't face each other at UFC 254 in Abu Dhabi, after the Diamond confirmed that talks with UFC hadn't worked out.

The lightweight title will be unified on October 24th when champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim champ Justin Gaethje meet in the octagon.

It was expected that Poirier and Ferguson would meet on the undercard and also be potential stand ins should either of the main eventers drop out, but Poirier won't be involved.

"UFC and I didn't come to terms," the former title challenger told ESPN's Ariel Helwani, "I will not be fighting on Oct. 24."

The 31-year-old had travelled from his home in Louisiana to start his training camp in Florida but the report says that he will now return home next week, putting an end to any chance of the fight being saved on that date.

Whether the pair meet up at a later date is still is unknown but it could be that UFC look for a different opponent for Ferguson instead.

On Wednesday Poirier had revealed that he was ready to take the fight saying, "I just need to be compensated if they want this fight. Simple as that. I'm a prize fighter and the prize needs to be right."

Poirier throws a punch against Hooker. Image: PA Images

According to earlier reports, as well as being the co-main event at Yas Island, Poirier would have been the man called up to the main event if Khabib had to pull out for any reason.

Whilst UFC have been able to put on a lot events behind closed doors during Coronavirus they have had a lot of fighters pull out of events for coming back with positive Covid-19 tests.

Had Gaethje been the one to miss out then Ferguson was going to be the man to replace him, which would have meant the fight between him and Khabib finally happening.

Gaethje is hoping to become the undisputed champion. Image: PA Images

Poirier's last fight was in June when he beat Dan Hooker in a Fight of the Year candidate but it remains to be seen whether he'll fight again this year.

Fans needn't worry about UFC 254 though as several other big names are expected to appear on the card, including Robert Whittaker, Rafael dos Anjos and Zabit Magomedsharipov.

Maybe Conor McGregor can step in to replace Poirier...

Topics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Fight Island, Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, UFC News, MMA News, Tony Ferguson, UFC, MMA

Ryan Sidle

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