Max Holloway is a gangster, but at the same time... FUCK!
UFC 223's new headliner is a lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and featherweight champion Max Holloway. "Blessed" steps up to fight the undefeated Dagestani on six days' notice after Tony Ferguson has withdrawn through injury.
"El Cucuy" confirmed on social media that he tore a ligament in his knee. He expressed his frustration over the knock and apologised to Nurmagomedov, the promotion, the fans, his teammates, his friends and family in an emotional statement.
Brett Okamoto of ESPN is reporting that the injury was caused by a simple trip. Apparently, Ferguson was walking and hurt himself turning sharply to greet someone he wasn't expecting to see.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhDFaGIDgzx/?utm_source=ig_embed
This is number one bullshit
This is the fourth time this fight has been booked and fallen through.
They were set to fight in December 2015, but a rib injury forced Nurmagomedov out of the contest. Ferguson withdrew from the second attempt at UFC on Fox 19 after doctors told him he had fluid and blood in his lung. Then, Nurmagomedov's
botched weight cut forced him out of UFC 209's co-main for the interim strap.
Nurmagomedov responded to the news on Instagram, telling his rival to heal up before warning him not to run his mouth in the future.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhC9MXBFsXT/?utm_source=ig_embed
Champ champ?
512 days after Conor McGregor became the first man to hold two UFC belts simultaneously, Holloway will attempt the same feat. Not only that, but he will do so with the exact same belts as 'The Notorious'.
Dana White told
Okamoto that Holloway vs Nurmagomedov will be for the undisputed lightweight strap. He confirmed that Ferguson will be stripped of his interim title once this fight starts, but was coy about how McGregor fits into the picture.
"As soon as these guys step in the ring and throw a punch, it's on for the title and whoever wins wins the title. We'll see what happens with Conor over the next several months. I know he had expressed an interest in fighting in September."
White also explained why McGregor wasn't an option to save UFC 223.
"I don't think Conor could make the weight on six days' notice. That's a tough weight cut for him.Conor isn't exactly the guy that I want to throw in as a late replacement fighter. He's a guy that I want to make a fight with, have the right amount of time to promote the fight, have the fight in the right place. So yeah, no. I'm not interested in asking Conor to take the fight."
https://twitter.com/BlessedMMA/status/980582511687290882
Nurmagomedov is 25-0. Holloway is 19-3 but hasn't lost a fight since 2013. They have a combined win streak of 21. It's a shame about the late notice and the weight difference, but this is still one hell of a fight.
