Tony Ferguson
Tony Ferguson looks likely to be next in line to face Khabib Nurmagomedov. In this picture, Ferguson poses during a ceremonial weigh-in for UFC 229 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 5, 2018. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

UFC president Dana White reiterated that Khabib Nurmagomedov's next fight should be against Tony Ferguson in a lightweight title fight.

Nurmagomedov successfully defended his lightweight title against Conor McGregor at UFC 229 earlier this month in what was the biggest event in the promotion's history with a reported 2.4 million pay-per-view buys.

The success of the event, despite the postfight brawl that has resulted in both Nurmagomedov and McGregor currently being suspended indefinitely by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), has led some to call for a lucrative rematch between the two.

For others, a rematch makes no sense, especially given the manner of McGregor's defeat to Nurmagomedov, who thoroughly dominated the Irishman for the duration of the fight before winning with a neck crank submission in the fourth round.

Instead, many have called for Ferguson to face Nurmagomedov next. The former interim lightweight champion took part in the co-main event of UFC 229 where a stunning performance against Anthony Pettis, which he won via corner stoppage after the second round, seemingly put him next in line for a title shot.

And when recently asked who Nurmagomedov could face next, "El Cucuy" was the name on White's lips.

"Tony Ferguson is the right fight, Tony Ferguson didn't lose the belt in a fight so it's the right fight," White told TMZ. "No, it's true. It was a great fight [vs. Pettis], it's [vs. Nurmagomedov] the fight to make."

"We'll see how this whole thing plays out [with the NSAC]. It's obviously going to depend on the suspension, what happens, and we'll see," he added.

White's comments come just over a week from when he mentioned Ferguson as the next possible opponent for Nurmagomedov, however, from a fight fan's point of view.

"I haven't even thought about a [McGregor] rematch," White told ESPN earlier this month. "Obviously, I know Conor wants a rematch. We need to do what's right and what's fair. We'll see how it plays out. We literally haven't thought about it yet."

"... As a fight fan, you've got to go with Tony. Tony had the belt, tweaked his knee, got stripped, this fight happens -- Tony never lost the [interim] belt in a fight. Neither did Conor, but Conor got the opportunity to actually fight [Nurmagomedov]. I think Tony deserves the next shot," he added.

While most wouldn't be surprised if White booked a rematch between Nurmagomedov and McGregor, reiterating that Ferguson should be next comes as a welcome sign, especially for the 34-year-old who feels the highly-anticipated fight should be next despite the fact that the previous four times they were scheduled to meet all resulted in cancellations.

“Khabib and I deserve to fight,” Ferguson said during the UFC 229 post-fight press conference. “We need to fight for the fifth time – we need to try this out again. He is the champ. I was the interim champ. I’m still the f-----g champ. There’s no BS in this."

White added that he expects the NSAC to come to a resolution in December.

But Ferguson could be waiting even longer for a chance to face Nurmagomedov as recent reports state the Russian could face Georges St-Pierre in the near future with a super fight reportedly in the works.

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