Tony Ferguson makes weight for canceled UFC 249 fight

Tony Ferguson told us he would make weight for his canceled UFC 249 fight with Justin Gaethje, and he made good on that promise.

On Friday morning — at the precise time he would have weighed in for his fight with Gaethje had UFC 249 gone ahead — Ferguson stepped onto a scale and hit 155 lbs. Lightweight championship weight.

Tony Ferguson just sent me this. He has officially made 155. pic.twitter.com/yy9zWWqYPB

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 17, 2020

Ferguson was originally expected to fight undisputed UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 249. Amid tightening travel restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, however, Nurmagomedov ended up getting stuck in Russia, and was ruled out of the fight.

Ferguson was then matched up with Gaethje in a short-notice interim lightweight title fight. Days after this short-notice interim bout was announced, the entire UFC 249 card fell through. UFC President Dana White confirmed the card was dead, adding that pressure from UFC broadcaster ESPN and its parent company Disney influenced his decision.

Just when the MMA world began to adjust to the reality that there would be no UFC fights for awhile, White announced a new UFC card, scheduled for May 9. If this card actually happens, the expectation is that it will be headlined by a rescheduled interim title fight between Gaethje and Ferguson.

While the UFC’s first attempt at booking this Ferguson vs. Gaethje fight fell through, Ferguson promised to make weight earlier this week. He also asked Gaethje if he would be doing the same.

@Justin_Gaethje You Gonna Make Weight Friday? @ufc #ufc249 -CSO- 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽

— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) April 14, 2020

“You gonna make weight Friday?” Ferguson wrote in a Tweet to Gaethje.

While Gaethje declined to undertake a weight-cut for a fight that isn’t happening, that evidently didn’t deter Ferguson.

What do you think of Tony Ferguson making weight despite his fight being canceled?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 4/17/2020.