Michael Chiesa wants interim title fight with Tony Ferguson

‘The Ultimate Fighter: Live’ winner Michael Chiesa has proven to be one of the most consistent lightweights in the UFC today. With a UFC record of 7-2, with one of his losses coming by way of doctor stoppage due to a cut on his eyebrow, Chiesa has found himself at #7 on the UFC’s official lightweight rankings.

With only a handful of fighters above him, Chiesa is looking to leverage his impressive 3-fight win streak into an interim lightweight title fight with Tony Ferguson, who recently found himself without an opponent when Khabib Nurmagomedov was forced out of their UFC 209 scrap the morning of weigh-ins.

Chiesa spoke to MMAJunkie to call for a fight with Ferguson:

“I’m looking at Tony, because look at the landscape of the lightweight division.”

“I wouldn’t blame Tony if he wanted to hold out and fight Conor. But if he fights Floyd, then he might not be back for a while. Khabib, who knows if they’re going to reschedule that, and his dad went on record and said he’s going to be out for a couple of months, indefinitely. Plus, he’s got Ramadan, so he’s not going to be back until September. So, does he want to sit around and not fight? Or do we finish what we started in July?”

Ferguson recently addressed the callout on a recent episode of The MMA Hour, stating:

“C’mon,” Ferguson said. “I’ll smash him. Nothing against him, but no.”

As Chiesa pointed out, Ferguson is likely going to opt to sit and wait for a lightweight title fight with Conor McGregor, or wait for a rebooking for his interim lightweight fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov, who according to teammates, is ready to rebook a fight with Ferguson after his withdrawal from UFC 209.

on 3/15/2017.