a ufc lightweight championship bout between interim champion and welterweight winner tony ferguson and khabib nurmagomedov was originally expected to headline this event. the pairing has previously been scheduled and cancelled for various reasons on three separate occasions over the last three years (, and ufc 209). due to the inactivity of former ufc featherweight champion and current lightweight champion conor mcgregor, the promotion has indicated that he would be stripped of his title and that the winner of the proposed ferguson/nurmagomedov bout would become the undisputed champion. despite confirming on january 19 that the winner of this bout would become the "de facto" champion, ufc president dana white did not confirm if mcgregor would be stripped.