Dustin Poirier vs. Tony Ferguson is not happening at UFC 254, nor will it go down anytime in the near future by all appearances.
After UFC president Dana White said the promotion was working on booking a matchup between former interim lightweight champions Poirier (26-6 MMA, 18-5 UFC) and Ferguson (25-4 MMA, 15-2 UFC) for the October event, excitement for the matchup reached a fever pitch with fans and media.
Earlier this week, however, Poirier poured cold water on the proposed matchup and said he could not reach financial terms with the UFC to finalize the fight. White appeared just fine to go along with that, because he confirmed plans for the fight are dead when asked at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 35 post-fight news conference.
“No, we’re not even trying to salvage it,” White told MMA Junkie. “We’re getting another fight. It’ll happen (with a different opponent for Ferguson).”
White did not go into details about why an agreement with Poirier couldn’t be reached. He also did not mention who the potential new opponent for Ferguson could be.
Dana White confirms Dustin Poirier vs. Tony Ferguson is dead: ‘We’re getting another fight’