A loyal squire to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev maintains his role even after the retirement of the former lightweight champion. Ahead of his UFC 311 clash against Arman Tsarukyan to defend his lightweight throne, Islam Makhachev appeared in an interview with Adin Ross and revealed the dream fight that he wanted to have. So, who is his mystery opponent? Well, it’s none other than a fierce former rival of Nurmagomedov, Tony Ferguson.

The long-awaited confrontation between the American and Khabib Nurmagomedov generated enormous expectations in the MMA community many years ago. However, it never took off, despite the fact that it was scheduled five times. Although the fight never materialized, the rivalry hasn’t been forgotten by Makhachev. The Dagestani revealed that while Nurmagomedov was injured, he asked his manager if he could be the one to fight ‘El Cucuy’ instead. However, his request was denied.

Now, a few years later, when he is the lightweight kingpin, he revealed that it remains a fight on the list. However, he would not want it to happen while he sits at the top and in his prime. Islam Makhachev said, “Many years ago, my brother Khabib supposed to fight Tony Ferguson like 5 times—they both have injuries, and 5 times the fight is canceled… five time. My dream to fight this guy at that moment because I always ask Khabib, when Khabib have injure, I ask my manager, ‘Hey, can I step to fight this is Tony?’ Tony in that moment was a very good athlete, very good fighter. More than 10 fight win streak in UFC. This is one of the fight I want to fight 3-4 years ago, not right now.”

It is worth noting that this isn’t the first time he talked about facing ‘El Cucuy.’ Even after defeating Drew Dober at UFC 259, the Dagestani fighter came to the defense of his friend and training partner by choosing Tony Ferguson as his next opponent. But unfortunately, the two never got officially booked to fight. Now, it seems like a pipe dream to fans, as there are rumors of Tony Ferguson looking for a way out of the UFC.

Tony Ferguson to find a new promotion?

Through his social media, Tony Ferguson indicated that his next fight will be announced soon. Without going into details, the veteran remained mysterious and did not reveal whether it would be inside or outside the UFC. Even before his last loss in the Octagon, Dana White had already publicly asked Tony to hang up his gloves and say goodbye to the sport. For this reason, some fans of the American project think a possible future duel could be fought in a ‘new home.’ The Global Fight League, or GFL, has announced a slew of names that will be eligible for the promotion’s upcoming draft this month.

The GFL is scheduled to hold its first event in April, and the team season format will go live once the fighters have been selected by their teams. Many of the names on the current roster, especially on the men’s side, are former UFC fighters who will add some value to the promotion early on. Among them is former interim UFC lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee, who recently appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show to talk in more detail about the promotion and his first impressions of his work with them. Lee spoke during the interview about other names that could join him in the promotion and could be potential opponents for him at some point, one of which seems to be Tony Ferguson.

He said, “I’ve heard a couple of names tossed around. The one that interests me the most is Tony Ferguson. He’s had his ups and downs in his career, but we’ve had a great fight for the UFC championship. That’s something that a lot of people can get behind, and that’s a fight that I really, really want.” Well, it looks like ‘El Cucuy’ might finally find a new home away from the UFC. Although it would be interesting to see if he manages to finally grab a win there or maintains his losing streak. What do you think? Is Ferguson moving out? Let us know in the comments.