UFC's Lightweight Division Gets Likely No. 1 Contender's Fight
Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm wasn't the only big fight announced Friday morning. According to Brian Martin of the Los Angeles Daily News, the December 11 finale of The Ultimate Fighter's 22nd season will host a critical lightweight bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.
For hardcore MMA fans, this is an absolute treat.
Nurmagomedov broke into relevance at UFC 148, when he handily defeated sturdy veteran Gleison Tibau. He stormed his way into the top 10 in 2013 by thrashing Strikeforce import Pat Healy and seemingly lined himself up for a title shot with a dominant win over Rafael dos Anjos.
Unfortunately, a UFC 178 bout with Donald Cerrone was scrapped after Nurmagomedov suffered a serious knee injury that required surgery. UFC 187 was set to pair the two off again, but Nurmagomedov aggravated the same knee, delaying his return further. While he has been out since April 2014, Dos Anjos' title run has kept Nurmagomedov relevant near the top of the division, and The Eagle's nonstop smack talk has kept him in the news and fans' minds.
Ferguson, however, is not an easy draw for his return bout.
The TUF 13 winner is riding an impressive six-fight winning streak, a run that includes four stoppage victories—including submissions of Abel Trujillo and Gleison Tibau. In his most recent win, he put a thorough beating on former Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson, which resulted in a 30-27, 30-27, 30-26 decision. He is an all-over-the-cage threat and impossible to brush off against anyone at 155 pounds.
"Worth noting: Khabib x Ferguson isn't the TUF 22 main. Team Khabib didn't want 5 rounds. Gimme Edgar vs. Stephans as main, night before 194.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 21, 2015"
It's worth noting that, according to MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani, the fight will be a three-round affair, and it won't be the TUF 22 finale's main event. The show has yet to announce the headliner.
So who do you think will take this one, fight fans?
