They’ll be fighting the Lightweight title, meaning current champion Conor McGregor may be stripped of his belt.
With just six days to go before the fight, Tony Ferguson has been forced to pull out of his headline spot at UFC 223 due to a knee injury.
In his place, Khabib Nurmagomedov will now face Max Holloway for the official Ligthweight title.
#UFC223 #TonyFergusonMMA SnapJitsu™️ #SnapDownCity 🙏😎 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/Rf4PWg4QXT
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) April 2, 2018
BOOM!!!!!! We got Khabib vs The Champ Max Holloway for the 155lb title this Saturday in Brooklyn New York!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/quvI3UqGXh
— danawhite (@danawhite) April 1, 2018
Where are you now? @TheNotoriousMMA
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) April 1, 2018
In January I asked Dana White if the UFC had an insurance policy / contingency plan in case either Tony Ferguson or Khabib Nurmagomedov were to get injured. Before he could even reply Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) took the mic. pic.twitter.com/oM7ORG4pza
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) April 2, 2018
The current holder of the title is Conor McGregor, who is not returning to defend the belt, so may well be stripped of it once the winner of the Nurmagomdeov V Holloway fight is decided.
Dana White stated that McGregor was never an option for the UFC 223 bout, and fans have reacted to the news of the new fighter:
Wait… the Tony Ferguson injury wasn't an April Fools piece??!?!
— James D Koh (@JamesDKoh) April 2, 2018
As far as I can tell the UFC is gonna:
Strip Conor of his official belt
Strip Tony of his interim belt
Award the winner of Khabib-Max the official belt?If khabib can't fight, does Max still get to fight for the belt? Is anyone stripped of their titles? Can Frankie step in?
— Danny Austin (@DannyAustin_9) April 2, 2018
Man if Max Holloway becomes the first fighter ever to defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov and does so on a week's notice with God knows what kind of preparation, then that might just be the greatest achievement we would've witnessed in this sport to date. That's no hyperbole. #UFC223
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) April 1, 2018
https://twitter.com/iainkidd/status/980581155173994496
https://twitter.com/MikeBohnMMA/status/980598902716903424
Max Holloway wants his rematch with Conor McGregor so bad that he is willing to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov on 6 days notice. Name someone more thug on the UFC's roster right now. #UFC223
— MacMally 🍀 (@MacMallyMMA) April 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/SophiaHelwani/status/980632438379606016
https://twitter.com/jeremybotter/status/980582599700729856
Holloway will face Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday 7 April at 10pm ET (which would make it 2am on Sunday morning here).
