UFC Lightweight division has got an exciting fight coming up in December as Tony Ferguson will fight Charles Oliveira at UFC 256. While Michael Chandler who was supposed to fight Tony did not accept the fight.
UFC President Dana White shed light on why former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler did not step-up to fight Tony Ferguson in December. Earlier, former interim lightweight champion. Tony Ferguson had called out Chandler for a scrap inside the Octagon on December 12 at UFC 256. We knew that Ferguson was champing at the bit to get in the Octagon before the year was up, and it seemed for a while that Chandler was going to be his opponent. However, the UFC surprised everyone when it was announced this week that Ferguson would instead be fighting top-ranked contender Charles Oliveira.
The recent weight cut was the reason why Michael Chandler didn’t end up fighting Tony Ferguson. Chandler had been campaigning to fight Ferguson for weeks with the latter finally being receptive to the idea as he called for a December 12 showdown at the UFC 256 pay-per-view event. However, Chandler wanted to fight at the UFC 257 card on January 23 which didn’t work out for Ferguson who was promptly booked to face surging contender Charles Oliveira at UFC 256 instead.
Dana White on why Michael Chandler isn’t fighting in December Bc Chandler just cut weight in Abu Dhabi #UFC255 pic.twitter.com/GJMJ6mmmRG
— Helen Yee (@HelenYeeSports) November 22, 2020
According to UFC president Dana White, it was the fact that he cut weight last month as an alternate for the Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje title fight.
“He just cut weight. He had just cut the weight in Abu Dhabi so he couldn’t do it,” White said at the UFC 255 post-fight press conference. “So you know how we do it, how we roll — we make fights and these fights will happen and, we’ll see what’s next for Chandler.”
Dana White revealed that they are working on a potential showdown between Tony Ferguson and Charles Oliveira. Additionally, Ferguson revealed that Chandler has already signed a fight, and many believe it could be against Justin Gaethje.
Justin Gaethje is coming off a loss against Khabib Nurmagomedov and will look to come back to winning ways with a win over Chandler. Meanwhile, Chandler will look to solidify his contention for the UFC title with a win over the former interim champion. Not to forget, the winner of Dustin Poirier vs Conor McGregor is also in title contention.
UFC lightweight division looks stacked at this moment. The only fighters with no fights in the coming month are Justin Gaethje, Dan Hooker, and Michel Chandler who is desperately waiting for his UFC Debut against a top lightweight.
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Tony Ferguson is set to fight Charles Oliveira at UFC 256 on Dec 12