GETTY Tony Ferguson (R) will take on Khabib Nurmagomedov (L) at UFC 223

Last night, a report from Russian website Tass claimed the interim lightweight champion would fight Nurmagomedov at the UFC’s third pay-per-view card of the year. They also suggested the bout would be for the undisputed lightweight title, which is currently wrapped around the waist of Conor McGregor. White was asked about the rumour during an appearance on the Toucher & Rich Show earlier today and confirmed that Ferguson vs Nurmagomedov will indeed take place at UFC 223. “That fight is going to happen,” the UFC chief said. “It will happen.”

UFC's stunning Octagon girls Fri, July 8, 2016 Express Sport brings you some snaps of UFC's stunning Octagon girls Play slideshow Zuffa LLC via Getty Images 1 of 10 Chrissy Blair, Brittney Palmer and Arianna Celeste

However, White stopped short of revealing if the bout will be for the undisputed lightweight crown. Yesterday’s report from Tass intimated that the contest would be for the full title as the UFC brass have ‘stripped’ McGregor of the title. Express Sport have reached out to the UFC brass for comment.

The booking of Ferguson vs Nurmagomedov is the fourth time the UFC have tried to get the pair to fight one another. The duo were first slated to meet one another at the TUF 22 Season Finale in December 2015, but the bout was cancelled as Nurmagomedov suffered a knee injury. A collapsed lung for Ferguson laid waste to the pair’s second proposed bout, which was due to take place at UFC on FOX 19 in April 2016.

GETTY Dana White says Tony Ferguson vs Khabib Nurmagomedov will go down at UFC 223

And as many mixed martial arts fans across the world are well aware of, the third attempt to have Ferguson take on Nurmagomedov fell through a little over 24 hours before UFC 209 as the latter was hospitalised following complications with his weight cut. UFC 223 takes place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on April 7. "At this moment in time, the event doesn't have a main event set

GETTY Khabib Nurmagomedov celebrates his UFC 219 victory over Edson Barboza