Cerrone offers to fight Nurmagomedov – but so, too, does UFC champ dos Anjos

For a guy who just lost his opponent a few weeks before a UFC headliner, Khabib Nurmagomedov sure seems to have plenty of options.

On Tuesday Tony Ferguson (20-3 MMA, 10-1 UFC) withdrew from his planned UFC on FOX 19 headliner with Nurmagomedov (22-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), which was slated for April 16 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., due to “fluid” and “blood” in his lungs.

So where does that leave Nurmagomedov, a top contender who’s No. 2 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings? Well, he’s certainly got his fair share of willing opponents, including former lightweight title challenger and recent welterweight Donald Cerrone (29-7 MMA, 16-4 UFC), who’s currently slated to fight vet Patrick Cote (23-9 MMA, 10-9 UFC) on June 18 at UFC Fight Night 89 (via Twitter):

Nurmagomedov hasn’t fought in two years – since April 2014, when he scored a lopsided win over Rafael dos Anjos (25-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC). However, dos Anjos has fought five times during Nurmagomedov’s injury layoff, and in his two most recent bouts, he won the title from Anthony Pettis and then defended it with a December TKO victory over Cerrone.

So, what about a rematch with Nurmagomedov? No. 1-ranked dos Anjos is currently on the mend after suffering a foot injury that forced him out of a planned UFC 196 bout with Conor McGregor this past month, but he said he’d be ready to fight Nurmagomedov by July (via Twitter):

Despite the title stakes if he rematches dos Anjos, Nurmagomedov isn’t exactly clamoring for the opportunity (via Twitter):

According to UFC officials, they haven’t decided if Nurmagomedov will remain on the UFC on FOX 19 card or be moved to a future event.

For more on UFC on FOX 19, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.