Dustin Poirier confirmed that he couldn’t come to terms to face Tony Ferguson
Ariel Helwani was the first to break the news that the fight between Tony Ferguson and Dustin Poirier was off.
This was going to be a huge clash as Ferguson is a former interim UFC Lightweight champion while Poirier also held the title.
The pair have never faced off in the Octagon but this was going to be Ferguson’s return fight since losing to Justin Gaethje for the interim title.
Poirier had looked good since defeating Dan Hooker and this would have been his second fight since losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
However, the Diamond claimed that the deal for the fight wasn’t right and this clash was cancelled.
This just in:
Next month's highly-anticipated Dustin Poirier vs. Tony Ferguson fight isn't in the works anymore, according to Poirier.
"UFC and I didn't come to terms," Poirier told ESPN. "I will not be fighting on Oct. 24."
Poirier will return home to Lafayette next week.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 10, 2020
Is it all about the money?
One reason the fight is off is due to the money. The UFC has had problems with several stars in recent months regarding the pay they get from fights.
Jon Jones and Jorge Masvidal have spoken about this in the past while Henry Cejudo might have left the sport just for that.
Poirier is one of the biggest names in the promotion and many fans spoke about this aspect of the UFC.
While the UFC rakes in money, they aren’t giving a fair share of it to the stars who do the action.
Poirier had spoken with ESPN a day back and confirmed that he wanted to be compensated fairly:
“I just need to be compensated if they want this fight,” he said. “Simple as that.
“I’m a prize fighter and the prize needs to be right.”
This fight was to take place on the same card as the one where Khabib fought against Gaethje for the Lightweight title.
There were also plans that either Poirier or Ferguson would step up if the main eventers would back out, but this isn’t going to happen anymore.
Many UFC fans were upset at missing out on the clash, they supported Poirier’s stance in all this:
If that was true I would be happy. The UFC does not care if you don’t fight. They will just make another fighter come up and promote the crap out of him. There’s always going to be that next McGregor. Young fighters who can’t pay their electricity bill looking for a break
— chris connolly (@chrscnnlly) September 10, 2020
I think the UFC has distorted our view of what’s reasonable. They pay fighters less than 20% of their revenues (other sports are closer to 50%). Anyone with a shred of leverage should always ask for more, the UFC has it and the guys risking brain damage deserve it.
— Jay Surrey (@LaughingSurrey) September 11, 2020
This is the most accurate tweet in this thread. The guy paid his dues.
— Scott Reilly (@SReilly1212) September 10, 2020
The Pour pic.twitter.com/ip9reAbVZ3
— Brandon Katz (@Great_Katzby) September 10, 2020
https://twitter.com/lfcfutman/status/1304170154360741889?s=20
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