Following his disappointing co-main event cancellation at UFC 209, UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson has painted a target on the back of Nate Diaz.

At UFC 209, Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov were set to face off in an epic co-main event interim title shot. After weight management issues, “The Eagle” was forced to cancel the epic fight.

Now, Ferguson has come forward with his plans for the future.

In a recent edition of UFC Tonight, as transcribed by MMA Junkie, Ferguson explained

“I want to fight a top contender. I’m one of the best fighters in the world as far as lightweight contention. I’ve put in my time; I’ve put in my numbers. If Conor wants to leave the belt and pursue some sort of victory in the boxing world, which I don’t think he is – the dude’s got a puncher’s chance. But (expletive), vacate the belt right now, drop it, leave it where it’s at, and (I’ll) fight for the title (at) International Fight Week against someone else.

“The only person I’d really like to go toe-to-toe with that probably needs some lesson taught to is Nate Diaz. I’d love to go toe-to-toe with him. For anybody else out there, they really don’t deserve a shot at fighting with me. Myself, the fans, everybody else would love to see that fight. Battle of California, baby. Let’s do this.”