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White not ruling out Khabib-Ferguson rebooking

Chris Unger / UFC / Getty

Those who still want to see a fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson are in luck.

UFC president Dana White isn't ruling out the idea of booking lightweight champion Nurmagomedov against Ferguson for the sixth time down the road.

"If Khabib does beat (Justin) Gaethje, you get Tony Ferguson another fight, which we're working on right now. And hopefully, that fight with Khabib happens, because I know people want to see it," White told Sports Illustrated's Justin Barrasso last week.

The promotion has scheduled Nurmagomedov and Ferguson to meet a total of five times in what has become one of the most anticipated bouts in UFC history. The matchup has not come to fruition for various reasons. Most recently, coronavirus-related travel restrictions took Nurmagomedov out of UFC 249 earlier in 2020.

Though White understands many fans want to see Nurmagomedov-Ferguson, he's still somewhat hesitant about making it happen once and for all.

"I don't think I've ever seen a fight fall apart as many times as those two," White said. "It almost scares me to make the fight again. What's going to happen? An asteroid comes to Earth? That's the level of bad this thing is."

Nurmagomedov is scheduled to defend his 155-pound belt against interim champion Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Gaethje beat Ferguson via fifth-round TKO to capture the interim title in May. "The Highlight" filled in on short notice after Nurmagomedov withdrew from the card.

Ferguson, a former interim champ, had won 12 fights in a row before facing Gaethje. "El Cucuy" was expecting to meet Dustin Poirier at UFC 254, but Poirier couldn't to come to terms with the promotion.

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