Fresh off his victory last weekend, Donald Cerrone already has his next fight lined up, and it’s perhaps the biggest of his career.
“Cowboy” is set to meet former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson next month at UFC 238. MMA Junkie confirmed with a person close to the situation that both fighters have agreed to the matchup following an initial report from ESPN.com. The person requested anonymity because the UFC has yet to officially announce the bout.
UFC 238 takes place June 8 at United Center in Chicago. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
Ferguson (24-3 MMA, 14-1 UFC), No. 2 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA lightweight rankings, has not seen action since October when he defeated Anthony Pettis at UFC 229. He’s been sidelined with personal issues that required clearance before making his return, and after a meeting with the UFC brass this week, “El Cucuy” is back in action. Now he will attempt to extend his 11-fight winning streak and reaffirm his place as the top title contender at 155 pounds.
He will have to get through No. 4 Cerrone (36-11 MMA, 23-8 UFC) to get there, though, and “Cowboy” is on perhaps the best run of his career. He just defeated No. 5 Al Iaquinta by unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN+ 9 last Saturday and is unbeaten since returning to lightweight. Cerrone has made his proclamation about claiming the UFC belt after ignoring the title conversation for years. Beating Ferguson would make his case undeniable.
The updated UFC 238 lineup includes:
- Henry Cejudo vs. Marlon Moraes – for vacant bantamweight title
- Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Eye – for women’s flyweight title
- Donald Cerrone vs. Tony Ferguson
- Pedro Munhoz vs. Aljamain Sterling
- Jimmie Rivera vs. Petr Yan
- Blagoy Ivanov vs. Tai Tuivasa
- Nina Ansaroff vs. Tatiana Suarez
- Katlyn Chookagian vs. Joanne Calderwood
- Alexa Grasso vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
- Calvin Kattar vs. Ricardo Lamas
- Yan Xiaonan vs. Opponent TBA
- Bevon Lewis vs. Darren Stewart
- Grigory Popov vs. Eddie Wineland
For more on UFC 238, visit the UFC Rumors section of the site.
