Even though Tony Ferguson has all but booked himself a unification clash against Conor McGregor for the lightweight championship, his biggest rival in the division still remains the man he's never fought.Had Khabib Nurmagomedov not pulled out of their UFC 209 clash one day before the event, perhaps Saturday night's fight would have been a completely different affair.

UFC 216

The Eagle and El Cucuy have always been at each other's throats on social media and in person on some occasions, and the frustration is understandable as the UFC have tried and failed to make the fight happen on three separate occasions.

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Nurmagomedov has pulled out twice while Ferguson had to back out due to a lung issue.

The dangerous Dagestani can't be blamed for feeling annoyed at having to watch Kevin Lee leapfrog him to an interim title clash, but UFC president Dana White did reveal that Nurmagomedov couldn't be ready in time - so he wasn't entirely overlooked.

Following on from Ferguson's big win on Saturday night in Las Vegas where he submitted The Motown Phenom in the third-round with a triangle choke, it has opened an interesting door for him.

The Notorious is the lightweight champion, and White revealed that he is looking to make a unification clash between McGregor and Ferguson.

KHABIB'S REACTION

Even though Ferguson called the Irishman out after the win, there is still an increased talk of McGregor returning to the Octagon for the first time since last November to complete the trilogy with Nate Diaz.

With Nurmagomedov still firmly in the mix as he's still at the top of the lightweight rankings, he put away the rivalry for one moment on Twitter with a rather surprising reaction, admitting that Ferguson deserved the championship belt.

He tweeted: "Great performance @TonyFergusonXT. My congratulations. You deserve this belt. #December @UFC @DanaWhite."

Based on Nurmagomedov's social media activity in recent weeks, it's clear that he's targeting a return to the Octagon in December, but it doesn't look likely that he'll be next in line to face Ferguson.

White claimed in the post-UFC 216 press conference that McGregor is looking to fight before the end of 2017, while Ferguson admitted he's ready to go as soon as possible.

If that's the fight that can be made, then Nurmagomedov will have no choice but to wait, despite calling out McGregor himself on several occasions.

If McGregor and Ferguson don't end up meeting inside of the Octagon relatively soon, then the Dagestan native is probably the only logical option to fight Ferguson and hopefully, the fight can come to fruition at the fourth time of asking.

What do you make of Khabib Nurmagomedov's reaction to Tony Ferguson's title win against Kevin Lee? Have YOUR say in the comments section below.

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