Michael Chiesa was supposed to fight Tony Ferguson last year at UFC Fight Night 91, but he pulled out of the fight due to injury. The TUF champion is healing up and when he returns, it's a rivalry with Ferguson that he wants to take care of.
“I’m looking at Tony, because look at the landscape of the lightweight division,” Chiesa told MMA Junkie Radio. “Conor (McGregor) could possibly be fighting Floyd (Mayweather). I wouldn’t blame Tony if he wanted to hold out and fight Conor. But if he fights Floyd, then he might not be back for a while. Khabib, who knows if they’re going to reschedule that, and his dad went on record and said he’s going to be out for a couple of months, indefinitely. Plus, he’s got Ramadan, so he’s not going to be back until September. So, does he want to sit around and not fight? Or do we finish what we started in July?”
Ferguson was supposed to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 209, but Nurmagomedov pulled out of the fight due to issues with his weight cut.
Chiesa does believe that the storyline between him and Ferguson would be a big sell for the potential fight.
“I think we have unfinished business, there’s somewhat of a story line, and I want to test myself,” Chiesa said.
Lando Vanatta wound up replacing Chiesa in that fight against Ferguson at UFC Fight Night 91, in what many considered a top fight of 2016.
