Earlier this week, Khabib Nurmagomedov made a statement saying he was offered a bout with Tony Ferguson for the interim UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 219 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at the end of the year, an offer which he accepted.At the moment, the only major fight on the UFC 219 card on December 30 is the UFC Women's Featherweight Championship between the current champion Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm, meaning the card isn't exactly the most appealing.Therefore, the addition of Ferguson vs Nurmagomedov for the interim UFC Lightweight title would have been a welcomed addition. However, it isn't happening because the interim champion has not accepted the fight, meaning the Russian will still fight against Edson Barboza.Khabib said in a tweet: "To be clear I was offered to fight @TonyFergusonXT on December 30th and I accepted the fight but my focus is barboza."It's not surprising that Ferguson has decided to decline to fight against Nurmagomedov, as he has a much more lucrative potential fight on the horizon, as he is next in line to fight against the UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor.However, the American still took the time to reply to the speculation to make sure it didn't look like he was dodging out of a fight.He said: "Listen Ya Fragile Fatass, The Last Time We Tried To Fight That Hat Of Yours Collected Cobwebs. How 'Bout Ya Take A Number... Make Weight, Show Up & Shut Up. Who's Irrelevant Now? 🖕🏽😎 -Thee MF'n Champ 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 #SnapDownCityB***h SnapJitsu™#TeamTiramisu4L #Towel7 #JustSayNo"

It's certainly possible that the UFC could book Ferguson vs Nurmagomedov for UFC 219, but considering the interim has a potential future fight with McGregor very soon, it's unlikely to happen, as he'll want to keep himself fresh for that occasion.

That means, for the time being, Nurmagomedov will have to keep on preparing for his next fight against Barboza which takes place at UFC 219 on December 30.