Morning Report: Michael Chandler responds to Tony Ferguson’s December callout: ‘There’s a 0% chance’ I’ll fig… – MMA Fighting

Over the weekend, former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson called out former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler for a fight at UFC 256 on Dec. 12. Now, Chandler has responded to Ferguson, and it’s not the answer “El Cucy” was hoping for.

Speaking to ESPN on Tuesday, Chandler said that he would not be accepting Ferguson’s challenge for a fight in December. He would, however, be more than happy to fight Ferguson at UFC 257 in January.

“There is a 0% chance I’ll fight Tony Ferguson in December,” Chandler said. “And I 100% know he knew that, because the UFC already told him that, and I’ve already said I’ll see him in January.

“Now that we have Conor (McGregor) fighting Dustin (Poirier) – it looks like that fight will get booked on Jan. 23 – they need a co-main event. Why wouldn’t it be Chandler vs. Ferguson?”

A fight between Ferguson and Chandler has been contemplated by the UFC for the last few months since Chandler signed with the organization. Originally, the UFC was looking to book the matchup as the co-main event to UFC 254 – the lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje. Ferguson, however, wasn’t keen on it, unhappy with what he felt was disrespectful treatment by the UFC. But now even though Ferguson is ready, Chandler is not, saying he needs more than a few weeks’ notice to fight.

“The UFC didn’t offer me the fight in December, because they know I’m on a timeline now,” Chandler said. “I just made weight in October. Everybody knows I’m an active fighter and I’m constantly training, but I needed just four weeks off. Essentially, Tony is campaigning for us to fight in 3.5 weeks.

“Tony, you had the opportunity to fight me in October and you said no. You didn’t even bring up fighting in December until it was way past the 11th hour. Let’s be realistic and sign up for Jan. 23. If you think you still have what it takes to fight for a title, fight me on Jan. 23. Why not take that opportunity, instead of muddying the water with this silly stuff?”

Ferguson does not appear to be happy with this compromise though. Responding on Twitter on Tuesday, Ferguson claimed to have been told Chandler has already accepted another fight and delivered an ultimatum to the former Bellator champion.

“UFC has said you have already accepted Another Fight ese! So stop crying to ESPN about fighting me. You want to compete against me I’ll be in Vegas Dec 12. Accept or we move on. -Champ Shit Only kid. F’kn #AmateurHour # BeGon’Thot”

If Ferguson sticks to his guns here, there are no shortage of other options for him, including a potential rematch with former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos who just made a triumphant return to the lightweight division, beating Paul Felder and vaulting himself to No. 6 in the divisional rankings.

Results. Final four contracts awarded for 2020 season at Tuesday Contender Series.

Wishful thinking. Dana White says Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier matchup won’t be for title: ‘Khabib’s gonna fight’.

Still not mad. ‘Lion’ Jon Jones continues Daniel Cormier troll: ‘Don’t talk sh*t and I won’t have to be so mean’.

Legacy. Jon Jones: Fighting Israel Adesanya, Jan Blachowicz ‘does nothing for my legacy’.

Failure. Commission apologizes for outrageously late stoppage in amateur MMA fight, suspends ‘intern’ referee.

Between the Links.

Bellator 253 media day.

Embedded 2.

Fighter timeline of Shogun Rua.

Top featherweight finishes in Bellator history.

Go ahead and treat yourself to all of DJ’s fights in ONE.

Cerrone discussing his future retirement.

The Bash. Interviews with Jan Blachowicz, Leon Edwards, and Paul Hughes.

UFC Unfiltered. Interviews with Deiveson Figueiredo and Mike Perry.

DC definitely not mad either.

Aljo.

Confident.

Curious.

Big day for Max.

Would you say it’s . . . number one bullshit?

Max Holloway (21-6) vs. Calvin Kattar (22-4); UFC Fight Night, Jan. 16.

Chris Weidman (15-5) vs. Uriah Hall (16-9); UFC 258, Feb. 13.

Maycee Barber (8-1) vs. Alexa Grasso (12-3); UFC 258, Feb. 13.

I’m gonna go ahead and say Jon Jones has never watched Game of Thrones because for “a lion”, he sure concerns himself with the opinion of all the sheep, everywhere.

Thanks for reading and see y’all tomorrow.

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let him know about it. Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.