The other stupid stuff we said today was April Fools, but this is no foolin’.
For the fourth time, the fight between now interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov is canceled, as the former suffered a knee injury. However, featherweight champ Max Holloway is stepping up vs. Nurmagomedov, and it’s for the undisputed lightweight belt.
UFC president Dana White, who hates April Fool’s pranks, made the announcement.
https://twitter.com/danawhite/status/980577727882387466
With a win, Holloway would become only the second fighter after Conor McGregor in league history to hold two belts simultaneously.
Nurmagomedov was not impressed.
Three times previously the fight has been made. Each fighter has pulled out with an injury, and then Nurmagomedov suffered liver issues while cutting weight and dropped out the day before UFC 209 in March of 2017. This one evens up the fight withdrawals.
Toughness isn’t something that happens in a fight once or twice a year, it’s something that happens every single day in training. Nurmagomedov and Ferguson are two of the toughest fighters in mixed martial arts. These fights aren’t being canceled because the fighters aren’t tough, they are being canceled because the fighters are so tough, and train so hard, every single time.
However, this latest withdrawal was a curse.
“I’m told the injury to Tony Ferguson was literally caused by a trip. The freak accident of all freak accidents,” tweeted ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. “He was walking, saw someone he wasn’t expecting to see, veered sharply to say hello and tripped.”
https://twitter.com/bokamotoESPN/status/980581292503744512
UFC 223 will be held on April 7, 2018, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Main Card (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Max Holloway vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov – for lightweight title
Champ Rose Namajunas vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk – for women’s strawweight title
Calvin Kattar vs. Renato Moicano
Michael Chiesa vs. Anthony Pettis
Paul Felder vs. Al Iaquinta
Prelim Card (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)
Felice Herrig vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Ray Borg vs. Brandon Moreno
Chris Gruetzemacher vs. Joe Lauzon
Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Evan Dunham
Prelim Card (UFC Fight Pass, 6:15 p.m. ET)
Alex Caceres vs. Artem Lobov
Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Bec Rawlings
Devin Clark vs. Michael Rodriguez
Kyle Bochniak vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov
