Fight for the right? Tony Ferguson set to face Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone at UFC 238 in Chicago

Former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson is back, and he's got a big matchup lined up as he prepares to face fan favorite Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone at UFC 238 in Chicago on June 8.

According to reports from ESPN and MMA Junkie, 'El Cucuy' is set to face Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone in a lightweight battle that may well propel the winner to the front of the queue to face the winner of the slated UFC lightweight title unification clash between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier, which is expected to take place at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi in September.

Ferguson's last performance saw him claim a thrilling victory over former UFC lightweight champion Anthony 'Showtime' Pettis at UFC 229 last October.

The American has been away from the octagon as he dealt with personal issues. But he is now expected to return to action in Chicago against Cerrone, who defeated Al Iaquinta over five rounds last weekend at UFC Ottawa.

Both men have their sights set on the world title, with Ferguson chasing a matchup with Nurmagomedov after FOUR previous attempts to book a fight between the pair fell through due to injury and illness.

Cerrone, meanwhile, has set his sights on a title shot after returning to lightweight and hitting a rich vein of form. The Colorado native has picked up a pair of impressive back-to-back wins over Alexander Hernandez and Iaquinta to push himself into title contention.

Victory for either man should place them at the top of the list of fighters to face the lightweight champion at the end of the year.