Ferguson lands rematch with Michael Johnson at UFC 197
Tony Ferguson is going to run it back against Michael Johnson at UFC 197 on March 5, according to Brian Martin of the Los Angeles Daily News.
The top 10 lightweights previously met at UFC on FOX 3 in 2012 in a fight Johnson won by unanimous decision. Since then, Ferguson has won seven straight, while Johnson has had mixed results, going 5-4 in his last nine appearances.
A sensational submission of Edson Barboza in Ferguson's last fight had him poised for a step up in competition and possibly a title shot, but once Conor McGregor was named as champion Rafael dos Anjos' next opponent, "El Cucuy" had to look elsewhere.
According to a series of tweets by MMAjunkie.com's John Morgan, the fight with Johnson materialized after scraps with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Eddie Alvarez fell through.
Khabib can’t fight before April due to knee. Ferguson wants desperately to fight in March before his kid is born. So options limited. (2/5)
— John Morgan (@MMAjunkieJohn) January 22, 2016
One option was @EdAlvarezFight, but he has foot injury, can’t be ready in time. Sounds like Team Ferguson pitched the Johnson fight. (3/5)
— John Morgan (@MMAjunkieJohn) January 22, 2016
So if it seems like a crazy matchup, I’m told that’s how @TonyFergusonXT vs. @FollowTheMenace came to be. Seems timing played havoc. (4/5)
— John Morgan (@MMAjunkieJohn) January 22, 2016