“Looks like I’m fighting this weekend,” the American wrote on social media, posting a homemade poster of the fight with Rakhmonov. “Hopefully I can make weight.”
“I’m kidding! Who is this guy anyway?”, Ferguson added after a while.
On September 16 at UFC Fight Night 227 in Las Vegas, the undefeated Kazakhstani welterweight was scheduled to face Kelvin Gastelum, however, a month and a half before the event, the American withdrew from the bout after suffering a severe dissection and a broken nose in training. The organization’s matchmakers were unable to find a replacement and keep Rakhmonov on the card, and he himself tried to get Kamaru Usman, Stephen Thompson, and even Michael Page, who was rumored to be signed to the UFC, as opponents. A few days earlier, the 28-year-old Rakhmonov, who is riding a streak of five early wins in the UFC, reminded potential opponents of himself again by announcing his willingness to compete at UFC 294 or UFC 295.
Tony Ferguson, 39, suffered his sixth straight defeat in July, losing by arm-triangle choke in the third round to Bobby Green.