With Conor McGregor Shelved, Nurmagomedov and Ferguson Are Down to Battle

The most lucrative fight in MMA today is a "red panty night" with Conor McGregor.

Two fighters all too aware of this reality are top lightweight contenders Khabib Nurmagomedov (24-0) and Tony Ferguson (22-3).

Both men are beyond qualified for a crack at the lightweight title. But they are left in something of a holding pattern, as McGregor is likely to take the first half of 2017 off due to the birth of his first child. With that in mind, they seem to be turning their sights to each other—albeit while keeping an eye on that massive McGregor payday.

Ferguson addressed the potential matchup on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour (h/t MMA Fighting's Shaun Al-Shatti for the transcription):

"

All bulls--t aside, the guy is a whiny bitch. He can whine as much as he wants to. ... Like I said before, I'm not going to rob [Nurmagomedov] of an ass-whupping. He does deserve one from my hands. ... He's calling Conor a chicken and Khabib is running from me, I'm calling him a chicken. So it's a trickle effect, man. I'm telling you, everybody is scared of the Bogeyman at the end.

"

Nurmagomedov, for his part, seems to be down for a fight with Ferguson.

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"If Conor doesn't want to fight before May/June, I want to take another fight. I want to fight for the interim belt with Tony Ferguson," Nurmagomedov said in an interview with RT Sport (h/t MMA Fighting's Jed Meshew).

He then discussed their ill-fated UFC on Fox 19 fight: "Last time he was injured. He pulled out, not me. ... Before I have been injured and now it's, why not? Now, I think the UFC wants to make this fight. I feel this and for me its perfect date is March. Not earlier, only March."

The rivalry between Ferguson and Nurmagomedov has been a snakebitten one to this point.

As Nurmagomedov mentioned, the two were set to face off at UFC on Fox 19 in April, though Ferguson was forced to pull out due to an issue with his lungs. Before that, they were set to face off at 2015's The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale, though Nurmagomedov was forced off the card due to a rib injury.

With no one else especially close to a title shot at 155 pounds, it's a no-brainer to finally get these two in the cage together.

The undefeated Nurmagomedov would likely be the betting favorite given his combination of nearly unstoppable takedowns and soul-crushing ground-and-pound. Don't count out Ferguson, though. He's the taller and longer fighter as well as one of the most unpredictable action fighters in all of MMA when it comes to both the stand-up and ground game.

The winner would be standing tall as perhaps the most accomplished No. 1 contender to a belt in UFC history (alongside featherweight Max Holloway). Here's hoping the UFC can get this fight booked as soon as possible and both men can remain healthy.