It’s not often Conor McGregor isn’t the talk of the MMA world when he’s fighting. But “The Notorious” is playing a distinct second fiddle right now. The UFC confirmed two weeks ago that McGregor will be fighting Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at welterweight for his big comeback on January 18. But it was another fight announcement this week that got fans more excited. Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson finally signed on the dotted line to fight each other in Brooklyn on April 18. It might be more than four months away, but the anticipation seems far higher than for the return of the Mac. “I believe the fans understand this is a super fight,” Ferguson told Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show . “El Cucuy” said he was “not surprised” an ESPN poll asking fans which fight they were looking forward to most showed a more than 70-30 split in favour of his rather than McGregor’s. “You got two gamer opponents that can go all the way up to heavyweight and handle the best out of them,” Ferguson said. “I know Khabib. He’s got a whole country behind him, and we’re gonna do is we’re gonna gain a whole country behind us. We already have the Russian fan base. They already like me more than that dude.” UFC: Khabib feels ‘fire burning inside again’ for Ferguson fight That last statement is perhaps doubtful, given Khabib is the most popular Russian celebrity on Instagram, with more than 26 million followers. But Ferguson’s next words were far closer to fact: “I’m gonna show up, I’m gonna go and do what I do best and own that mat. It’s my mat.” Ferguson’s nickname roughly translates as “The Bogeyman”, from a Mexican urban legend. And a bogeyman is precisely what he is in the lightweight division. The former interim champion is 25-3 and is on a 12-fight win streak in the UFC – the 35-year-old was keen to share a meme on social media showcasing the bloody disfigurement he left on those 12 opponents’ mangled faces when they met inside the Octagon. Khabib’s opponents are usually left less physically broken – but they have been equally broken mentally at the hands of the undefeated Dagestani grappling expert, who mauls his victims into submission. He, like Ferguson, is on 12 straight wins in the UFC, and is 28-0 overall. Something’s gotta give in Brooklyn. Sure, if McGregor goes out and makes a statement in Las Vegas by knocking out Cerrone in the first round, he’ll have all of us dancing to the pied piper's merry little tune again. Maybe he’ll call out a cageside Jorge Masvidal for the “BMF” title, and turn back the clock with a million-dollar promo on the mic. But it can’t be denied the fight that matters most in all of MMA right now is Ferguson vs Khabib – two men in their complete and utter prime who are the undisputed top of their division. Having seen the fight fall apart four times since 2015, let’s all pray to the MMA gods and hope the fifth time’s a charm.