Report | Undisputed lightweight title fight to be announced during UFC 220 festivities

Over the last few weeks, we’ve all been wondering what is going to happen at the top of the UFC lightweight division. Will undisputed champion Conor McGregor return? If he does, will he defend his title against interim champion Tony Ferguson or streaking contender Khabib Nurmagomedov? If he doesn’t, will we get Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov? And when, pray tell, will the UFC strip McGregor for inactivity? Indeed, the questions go on and on…

According a report from Tass.Ru, we’ll have answers to all our questions soon.

Aligning with previous statements from UFC President Dana White, this report suggests the UFC will announce a Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov lightweight title fight sometime during this weekend’s UFC 220 festivities. The bout is apparently in the works for UFC 223 on April 7 in Brooklyn, New York. Perhaps even more importantly, this report asserts that this Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov bout will be for the “full title.” Meaning no interim belt will be on the line. Meaning McGregor is likely to be stripped for inactivity very soon.

To reiterate, this is in keeping with what Dana White said on the post-fight show for last weekend’s UFC St. Louis card.

Dana White tells FS1 that UFC is working on Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov after Conor McGregor telling him he may not fight until September. Would McGregor be stripped? “Absolutely,” he says.

— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) January 15, 2018

If this report is indeed accurate, and the UFC proceeds with this Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov lightweight title fight, it will mark the umpteenth time the promotion has attempted to book the fight. Unfortunately, it has yet to come to fruition. Hopefully that changes this time around.

Who do you think comes out on top on this reported UFC 223 undisputed lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov? How do you think Conor McGregor will react?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/16/2018.