Tony Ferguson returns against Anthony Pettis at UFC 229:



Former Interim UFC Lightweight champion Tony 'El Cucuy' Ferguson will make his highly anticipated return to the Octagon this October, as he and former division gold holder Anthony Pettis put pen to paper on the a three round potential title eliminator at UFC 229, coincidentally, the same card which features the monstrous clash between Khabib Nurmagomedov and bitter rival Conor McGregor in Las Vegas. Ferguson vs. Pettis is most certainly a more high profile clash than the Heavyweight meeting of Derrick Lewis and Alexander Volkov, so expect the 155lb bout to get the nod to co-headline the October 6th event.

Ultimate Fighter victor Ferguson, was forced to pull out of his UFC 223 Lightweight unification bout with current champion Khabib back in April, after tripping over a cable whilst carrying out media obligations tearing both his MCL and ACL, signalling a fourth separate occasion where Ferguson and Nurmagomedov failed to clash. Ferguson was subsequently stripped of the Interim crown while Al Iaquinta filled in on short notice to challenge 'The Eagle', albeit unsuccessfully for the vacant championship.

Still surging on an spectacular thirteen fight win streak, Tenth Planet Jiu-Jitsu black belt Ferguson is surely undeniable in terms of the next title shot at Lightweight with a win over 'Showtime' Pettis. 'El Cucuy', a wily grappler has finished three of this last four fights via submission, slapping a triangle on the dangerous Kevin Lee to claim the Interim title most recently. Two D'arce victories over elite striker Edson Barboza and the tricky Lando Vannata earned the Californian a clash with the supremely well rounded Rafael dos Anjos, beating the Brazilian pillar to post over a dominant five rounds.



Enduring the most difficult spell of his career in the last three years, seen the one time best Lightweight both the WEC and UFC could offer suffer five losses of eight Octagon appearances. The MMA community speculated that the introduction of the USADA drug testing program, directly affected Milwaukee native Pettis' performances, a reasonable claim. His most recent meeting with talented grappler Michael Chiesa firmly reminded us of his incredible ability no end. Lighting Chiesa up on the feet in the opening round, Pettis sprang with a flying knee in the opening stages of the second round, clipping 'The Maverick' before wrapping up a vice like triangle armbar victory after Chiesa admirably fought off a deep guillotine attempt.

One thing is for sure, the UFC Lightweight division is in store for a major reshuffle over the find quarter of 2018, with Justin Gaethje and James Vick clashing this Saturday night, while Ferguson and Pettis now feature on the same card as Khabib and McGregor. November will also see the snapping of Nate Diaz's two year hiatus as he meets division high flyer Dustin Poirier and Kevin Lee is firmly chomping at the bit with a return likely before the year's conclusion.

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