Dana White has been saying he will deliver UFC 249 come hell or high water and today he locked in the first crucial part to making that happen, two top bill fighters. As for a location that is still TBD (rumors are that it will be somewhere on the west coast).

For many fight fans, this announcement for the interim lightweight belt is a huge letdown. It seriously jeopardizes the chances of ever seeing Khabib vs Tony. Tony will now have to defend his interim belt which will be no cakewalk, make it out with no serious injuries and if he manages to do all that he will then have wait for Khabib yet again.

For those of you not aware Khabib does not fight during Ramadan which starts April 24th and ends on May 23rd. That is why the timing of this fight was incredibly important.  Even after Ramadan ends according to Khabib it takes approximately 45 days for him to get back into championship-level fighting shape due to the effects of fasting and taking a break from his extensive training routine during Ramadan. So with that time table, the earliest Khabib would be able to fight would be the weekend of July 11th. Who knows what the fighting world will look like at that point or what Khabibs priorities will be given he says he only has a few more fights left in him. So while it is certainly disappointing that we won’t be getting Khabib vs Tony any time soon or if ever, we still have one hell of a fight to watch on April 18th.

For those not familiar with Justin Gaethje let me tell you this man is a legit problem in the cage. Not only does he bring an absolute monster mentality to fighting, but he also possesses great wrestling skills and has a bomb in his right hand. In his last two fights, he knocked out Donald Cerrone and Edson Barboza two extremely good fighters. Taking this fight after having your dream fight with Khabib fall apart is a wild boy move but we should expect nothing less from Tony.

Tony Ferguson could have easily said nah I’ll wait for Khabib in the tall grass but instead he puts his interim belt and chance to fight Khabib in the future on the line to give us a fight worth watching on April 18th. Tony is an absolute savage and if you didn’t love him before you absolutely should now. I can not wait for this fight and can only pray that Dana White really does have a place to put on a fight.

For now, though we have a real live sporting event to watch coming up! In the meantime take a look at these guys highlight reels.