Bout agreements yet to be signed, but Tony Ferguson says he's in for Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 209

A long-awaited bout between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov appears closer than ever to being done for UFC 209.

Ferguson (22-3 MMA, 12-1 UFC) today tweeted that he had been tested by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the UFC’s anti-doping partner, and indicated a bout with Nurmagomedov (24-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) is on the table for the March 4 pay-per-view event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

According to a person close to the Ferguson camp, who asked to remain anonymous because negotiations are meant to be private, the fighter is waiting on an “updated bout agreement” based on a “verbal agreement.” UFC officials also confirmed to MMAjunkie that no bout agreements have been signed for the bout, which is expected to serve as an interim lightweight title fight.

While the person close to Ferguson’s camp declined to elaborate on the verbal agreement, the lightweight’s financial demands previously have been a holdup. Prior to this past month’s UFC 207, White said the surging lightweight wanted equal pay with Nurmagomedov and shot down the possibility. In a bizarre move, Nurmagomedov then offered to go out of pocket to pay Ferguson an additional $200,000 to sign on the dotted line.

Today, Ferguson turned a corner. His tweet seems to be a good sign the fight is a finally a reality after multiple setbacks in previous efforts. Medical issues with Nurmagomedov and Ferguson, respectively, scratched bookings at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale and UFC on FOX 19.

If finalized, the lightweight bout pits two of the winningest fighters in the division against each other and sets up a title shot. The undefeated Nurmagomedov, the No. 2 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings, has won eight straight in the octagon, while No. 3 Ferguson has won nine.

The two have sparred plenty in the media, trading barbs on Twitter when fists weren’t in the cards. They recently went another round online. In the cage, Ferguson most recently outpointed ex-champ Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 98. Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, bested Michael Johnson at UFC 205.

Both fighters are targeting a title shot with champ Conor McGregor, who’s on a 10-month leave as his longtime girlfriend prepares to give birth to a child.

For more on UFC 209, check out the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.