Tony Ferguson and Dustin Poirier were reportedly set to battle at UFC 254, but much to the dismay of Dana White and MMA fans, the bout wouldn’t come together.
Poirier was the first to withdraw from UFC 254 after he couldn’t come to a financial agreement with the UFC and now White says Ferguson won’t compete at the event as well.
“They went quiet on us,” White told TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter (via Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie). “We couldn’t get a fight done.”
With both Ferguson and Poirier off UFC 254, former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler will serve as the backup fighter for the main event. White says he has no problem with people if they don’t want to fight, because the promotion will move on and make other fights.
“When I call you and you want to fight (then) fight,” White said. “If you don’t, no problem. I’m not pushing anybody to fight… You don’t want to fight? We move on, and we make other fights.”
UFC 254 takes place on Saturday, October 24 from Fight Island in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
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