3 Most Spectacular Opponents Tony Ferguson Can Fight in Place of Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 249

Scheduled for April 18, UFC 249 as a whole was already in doubt due to the coronavirus, as the travel restrictions established in places like Russia have prevented undefeated UFC superstar Khabib Nurmagomedov from leaving the country to take on Tony Ferguson in the main event for the lightweight championship. With the event still technically on as of this writing, "El Cucuy" still needs an opponent. While Justin Gaethje has been floated as a potential option, Dana White is nothing if not a master marketer and showman -- he could put any of these three potential challengers on the card to drum up viewership and create the greatest possible spectacle.

3. Canelo Alvarez

Canelo Alvarez should get in the octagon / Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Canelo Alvarez has always shown that he loves a challenge, as evidenced by the Mexican star constantly switching weight classes in order to find new opponents and win new belts. With his expected May 2 fight against Billy Joe Saunders currently on hold due to COVID-19 fears, Alvarez could use this time to try his luck with a combined boxing/MMA superfight against Tony and score another massive payday. Conor McGregor's loss to Floyd Mayweather can be avenged in the Octagon on behalf of all UFC fans, and Canelo can debut the "Alvarez Armbar." Everybody wins.

2. Dana White

White himself should get into the octagon / Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images

As the old saying goes, if you want something done right, do it yourself. White's baby is currently hemorrhaging money through no real fault of his own, which could force him to make some truly drastic decisions in order to keep the money flowing. Could one of those decisions be suiting up himself and letting Ferguson pummel him? Let's not rule it out just yet. Perhaps if he asks USADA to look the other way just once?

1. A Tiger

Does Ferguson have a shot against an adult tiger? /

There are very few human fighters that can stand up to Tony in the Octagon, so why not dip into the animal kingdom to find his next opponent? And seriously, why not capitalize on the wild viral sucess of "Tiger King" on Netflix? There is a bit of a size mismatch here, as an adult male Bengal tiger is around 10 feet long if you count the tail and weighs on average between 400 and 550 pounds, so Ferguson would need to move up a few weight classes to make this fight happen. That doesn't change the fact this intergenus matchup would be break all sorts of PPV records, even in an empty arena.