UFC 223, April 7, 2018: All hell breaks loose – and it begins with a cable cord
The first three Nurmagomedov-Ferguson fight fallouts were pretty standard for the MMA world. The fourth time, however, cemented the idea this fight is truly cursed.
Ferguson had gone on to defeat Kevin Lee to win the interim title at UFC 216, using a third-round submission to get the job done. Khabib was set to meet Ferguson at UFC 223 for the undisputed title. But just eight days before the card, during a media tour of Los Angeles, Ferguson tripped over a production cable on the FOX lot and blew out his knee, forcing him to withdraw from the bout two days later – on April Fool’s Day no less.
Featherweight champion Max Holloway volunteered to take the bout on six days’ notice. On Wednesday of fight week, UFC president Dana White said McGregor, who had yet to defend his belt, would be stripped of the title, making the Nurmagomedov-Holloway winner the true champion. One day later, a furious McGregor showed up at a UFC 223 media day in the New York with accomplices and attacked a van carrying several fighters, including Nurmagomedov.
On weigh-in day, Holloway was ruled unfit by the New York State Athletic Commission and was pulled from the fight. Al Iaquinta, who was set to fight Paul Felder, stepped in. But he missed championship weight, making only Khabib eligible for the title. Which he won in a one-sided unanimous decision.
Ferguson now was the odd man. The momentum shifted to Nuramagomedov vs. McGregor, which Nurmagomedov winning by fourth-round submission at UFC 229.
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