Dana White Says Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson Isn’t Happening

Dana White has confirmed that while rumors of an interim lightweight title bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson were true, it isn’t going to happen. White told MMAjunkie that Ferguson’s demands for equity pay with Nurmagomedov killed the potential fight.

“Yes, that’s true,” White said. “We were trying to make that fight. Tony said he will not do that fight unless he makes the same exact money that Khabib makes. Khabib has a different deal. So, that ain’t happening. Count that one out.”

When asked why there was an issue there, White said that Ferguson recently signed a new deal and needed to honor that contract. He noted, “There’s a thing where these guys — I honor every contract, no matter what it is. I get into some (expletive) deals, too. You know what I mean? You’ve got a guy who is making tons of money, but he was a champion. That was the deal. I cut that deal and I signed it. I’ve got to live with my deal. When you sign a deal, you honor your deal. Or, you at least get to a point where, most guys never make it to the end of a UFC contract. They get to within three fights and then we want to sit back down and start talking. You can say, I don’t want to sit down and talk yet, I’m going to ride this thing out and I’m going to become a free agent and test the market and see what I can bring in. Guys have done it, Dan Henderson did it, Rory MacDonald, Lorenz Larkin. Ride the thing out and become a free agent. But honor your deal. I have to honor my deals. Imagine if I didn’t honor a deal. You guys would be (expletive) all over me, right?”