Odds on Khabib’s Next Opponent: Ferguson Odds-On Favorite, GSP Given +150 Odds, McGregor +10000
- Khabib Nurmagomedov is coming off a win over Dustin Poirier
- Many believe Tony Ferguson could be next for The Eagle, but a Conor McGregor rematch is a possibility
- See the odds for the UFC lightweight champion’s next fight
Khabib Nurmagomedov is 28-0 and coming off of a third-round submission win over Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 242. Before that, he finished Conor McGregor at UFC 229 in what was the highest-purchased pay-per-view in UFC history.
With Poirier done and dusted, the question becomes: who will get the next crack at the UFC lightweight champion? Here’s how the odds looked as of Thursday, Sep. 12.
Who Will Khabib Nurmagomedov Fight Next?
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| Tony Ferguson | -200 |
| Georges St-Pierre | +150 |
| Conor McGregor | +1000 |
| Nate Diaz | +1600 |
*Odds as of 09/12/19.
What’s The Best Bet?
Tony Ferguson is the best bet, even at -200. All signs point to “El Cucuy” being next in line; even Khabib, himself, said Ferguson was next in line.
“There’s only Tony Ferguson,” Nurmagomedov said before UFC 242. “Of course, I think he deserves. Who else? Nobody. Only Tony Ferguson I think.”
Ferguson is riding a 12-fight winning streak including his latest win over Donald Cerrone at UFC 238. Before that, he beat Anthony Pettis by TKO (corner stoppage) at UFC 229. During the winning streak, he also claimed the UFC interim lightweight title but never fought for the full-time belt.
The fight against Nurmagomedov is one many are looking forward to. It has been booked four times before but has been derailed each time by failed weight cuts or injuries.
This time, the biggest threat to derailing Khabib/Ferguson isn’t health or weight-cuts, it’s money, more specifically, it’s the massive amount of cash that a McGregor vs Nurmagomedov rematch would bring in.
McGregor fought Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in what was the biggest pay-per-view in company history. It was one of the biggest fights in combat sports history, and having them square off again would no doubt be big business. UFC president Dana White also said a rematch makes sense.
“Tony Ferguson gets the next shot and obviously if for whatever reason Tony can’t take the fight or doesn’t want the fight at that time, then we’d figure out what’s next,” White said. “But Conor would make a lot of sense. Conor wants that fight really badly and I’m sure a lot of fans would want to watch it. Let’s see how it plays out.”
Right now, Tony Ferguson is most-likely to get the next shot at Khabib. There’s value on Conor McGregor at +1000 (meaning there’s more than a 9% chance he’s Khabib’s next fight), but I’ll put my money on Ferguson finally getting his title shot.
Pick: Tony Ferguson (-200)
Cole graduated from Sheridan College in April of 2019 with a diploma in journalism. He now is a full-time freelance writer, focusing on MMA for sites like BJPENN, while also covering the Toronto Blue Jays as a credentialed media member. At SBD, Cole covers the four major sports and MMA.
