Tony Ferguson Booked to Face UFC Veteran at UFC 291 Following DUI Arrest

News of Ferguson's return comes on the heels of a reckless incident in Hollywood.

Drew Beaupré | May 16, 2023

(via Jeff Battari/Zuffa LLC)

Tony Ferguson’s next fight has been announced by the UFC just over a week after the former interim title holder was arrested for drunk driving.

The MMA headlines on Tuesday morning were dominated by the news that former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou had signed with the PFL, but in the evening Dana White sent MMA fans into a frenzy when he announced the entire main card for UFC 291 and a pair of title fights for UFC 292.

THIS CARD IS STACKED 🍿 #UFC291 pic.twitter.com/GttH1FNANb
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 16, 2023

The absolutely stacked main card for Salt Lake City’s UFC 291 included the somewhat surprising announcement that Ferguson would be taking on longtime UFC veteran Bobby Green in a lightweight bout. The news came just over a week after “El Cucuy” made headlines for allegedly crashing his pickup truck into a pair of parked cars outside of a Hollywood nightclub before refusing to take a field sobriety test.

Ferguson did make a point to say he was eager to step back into the cage after being released from police custody, and a fight with Green at UFC 291 will provide the 39-year-old with a chance to snap his current five-fight skid.

The majority of those results have admittedly come against some of the UFC’s top lightweights, and a submission loss against Nate Diaz in his last fight only came about after Ferguson accepted an extremely late-notice change of opponent to help save UFC 279 following Khamzat Chimaev’s egregious weight miss.

Nate Diaz connects with a punch on Tony Ferguson at UFC 279. — (via Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Green may not be ranked in the Top 15, but he’s certainly a tough out for any fighter in the UFC’s lightweight division. “King” is one of the more consistently entertaining fighters on the UFC roster, and he’ll be looking to erase the memory of his most recent bout against Jared Gordon that ended in a No Contest due to a clash of heads.

Ferguson and Green won’t be the only lightweights competing on the UFC 291 main card, as the event is headlined by a rematch between Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje with the UFC’s revived BMF title on the line. The co-main event will also see Jan Błachowicz welcome Alex Pereira to the light heavyweight division in the Brazilian’s first fight since losing his middleweight title to Israel Adesanya at UFC 287.

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Published May 16, 2023