UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov has offered to pay Tony Ferguson $200,000 out of his own pocket to fight him.
Nurmagomedov (24-0) wrote the offer to Ferguson via Twitter on Monday. The two have publicly gone back and forth regarding a potential fight for weeks.
Ferguson (22-3) has said he's more than willing to accept the matchup, but wants the financial terms to be fair. Nurmagomedov apparently wants the fight so badly he's willing to help.
"Hey [Tony Ferguson], if the UFC don't (sic) want to pay you I'll pay you 200k extra on your purse," Nurmagomedov wrote. "Let's make this fight now you have no excuse."
Last week, UFC president Dana White confirmed the promotion had interest in a fight between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson, but declined to meet Ferguson's financial demands. White also confirmed that Ferguson was asking to be paid the same amount as Nurmagomedov.
"We were trying to make that fight," White said in Las Vegas. "Tony said he will not do that fight unless he makes the same exact money that Khabib makes. Khabib has a different deal, so that ain't happening. Count that one out.
"I honor every contract, no matter what it is. I get into some s----- deals, too. You've got a guy who's making tons of money, but he was a champion and that was the deal I cut. I cut that deal and I signed it, and I've got to live with my deal."
Ferguson is currently on a nine-fight win streak. Nurmagomedov has never lost and is 8-0 in the UFC. Both Nurmagomedov and the UFC have confirmed he was offered a fight against featherweight champion Jose Aldo, in lieu of the Ferguson matchup, but he declined.
In a social media post, Nurmagomedov, who is from Dagestan, Russia, said the Ferguson bout is what the "world is waiting for."
Should the fight eventually come together, the winner would be an obvious candidate to fight lightweight champion Conor McGregor next. McGregor is expecting the birth of his first child later this year. White has stated the Irish star is due the personal time and not in the company's immediate plans.