Top contender Tony Ferguson will return at UFC 229 against a former champ.
The road back to a belt for Tony Ferguson will start with a former WEC and UFC lightweight champion. Ferguson will face off with Anthony Pettis at UFC 229 on October 6th in Las Vegas. The news was confirmed by MMA Junkie as it has not been officially announced by the UFC as of yet.
Ferguson (23-3, 13-1 UFC) claimed an interim UFC lightweight title when he beat Kevin Lee last year. However he suffered a leg injury in the lead-up to UFC 223 where he was supposed to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov in an undisputed title bout. He was then stripped of his interim belt when Nurmagomedov was crowned champ after a win over Al Iaquinta on that same card. El Cucuy has undergone surgery and has been teasing a comeback fight for a little while now.
Pettis (21-7, 8-6 UFC) has been up and down of late, but looked excellent in a submission win over Michael Chiesa at UFC 226.
This bout is likely in place on the card just in case there is an injury to either Conor McGregor or Khabib Nurmagomedov, who are competing in the UFC 229 main event.