Tony Ferguson warns Michael Chandler: ‘Don’t delay this whoopin!’

It’s been a few weeks since Tony Ferguson deployed the “El Cucuy” signal, seemingly declaring he had his next Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fight lined up and ready to go. No further news has come since then, until now with Ferguson seeming to tip his hand at who the promotion is lining him up to fight next.

It all started (like so many things do these days) on Twitter, where Michael Chandler once again started tweeting about a hypothetical fight against Conor McGregor. Chandler has been putting a lot of groundwork into a potential “Red Panty Night” against “The Notorious,” going the respectful route when speaking of McGregor rather than the trash talk most fighters engage in.

That was enough to summon Ferguson into his mentions.

“There’s my b—ch!!!” Ferguson wrote (translated from Tony-speak so you don’t have a seizure trying to read his writing). “UFC relayed your message saying you would be ready for me April / June. Looks like you’re trying to delay that ass-whoopin’ I owe ya for cutting in line, kid. It’s wrestling season, MF. Man up — Champ.”

That got Chandler’s attention, who replied:

“Oh Tony. There’s only a handful of guys in this game I truly respect…you’re one of them. Only because of your tenure, not your stature or your current presence in the division. I’ll beat you from bell to bell. Pray for a merciful ref. We shall see if this fight happens.”

With Conor McGregor aiming for a July return, there’s a whole lot of fighters in the Lightweight division angling to be his comeback fight. And if they have to wait until summer 2022, so be it. That list most notably includes current UFC 155-pound champion Charles Oliveira, much to No. 1 contender Justin Gaethje’s consternation.

We doubt UFC is willing to give its up-and-coming Lightweight champion a six-month layoff to fight McGregor, who’s currently 1-3 over the past three years. But, Michael Chandler? Tony Ferguson was the one who declared Chandler has “Dana White Privilege” so he knows how UFC brass can be. And if I was Chandler and had a shot at the McGregor sweepstakes, waiting til July rather than taking an April / June fight with Ferguson is a no-brainer.

So, it’s unsurprising that Ferguson is opening up about fight negotiations and naming Chandler as the guy UFC is talking to him about. Will Ferguson vs. Chandler actually come together in spring 2022? It’d be a badass fight, but it doesn’t sound like it’s close to being signed yet.

As Chandler says, we shall see.