UFC 223 is having a rough week.
Featherweight champion Max Holloway has been pulled from Saturday’s main event fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov after being deemed medically unfit to compete. MMA Fighting confirmed the news Friday morning during UFC 223’s official weigh-ins following an initial report by ESPN.
MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani reported that commission doctors put a halt to Holloway’s weight cut in fear of his safety, however Holloway wished to continue. At the time of the decision, Holloway wanted to “keep pushing” and was “close,” a member of Holloway’s team told Helwani.
The loss of Holloway vs. Nurmagomedov marks the fourth fight to be scratched from UFC 223 over a 24-hour span, adding to the trio of fights lost on Thursday because of Conor McGregor’s attack on a fighter bus.
Holloway, 26, accepted the bout against Nurmagomedov on Sunday after an injury to Tony Ferguson derailed UFC 223’s main event six days out from fight night. Holloway’s nutritionist George Lockhart told MMA Fighting that Holloway’s impromptu weight cut was expected to be “tied for the largest weight cut” Lockhart had ever managed.
With Holloway out, the UFC is currently attempting to put together a replacement main event between Nurmagomedov and former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.
Pettis’ original UFC 223 fight against Michael Chiesa was cancelled on Thursday after Chiesa was injured in McGregor’s bus attack. Pettis has yet to weigh-in.
Update: Holloway tweeted out this statement Friday morning.
Max Holloway won’t get his chance at a second belt.
Holloway, the reigning UFC featherweight champion, was pulled from the main event of UFC 223 on Friday morning during official weigh-ins after being deemed medically unfit to compete by commission doctors while cutting weight.
Holloway was attempting an ambitious weight cut after accepting the fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov on six days’ notice as a late replacement for Tony Ferguson.
Following the announcement of his cancelled fight, Holloway released a statement on Twitter apologizing to Nurmagomedov and MMA fans.
. @TeamKhabib my brother I want to keep going but they are stopping me. Sorry to your team and the fans. You don’t deserve this. This is number one. Shout outs to you and @Showtimepettis . Give the fans what they deserve — Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) April 6, 2018
The UFC is currently exploring options to keep Nurmagomedov on the card.
A replacement matchup between Nurmagomedov and former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis is being discussed.
More on this story as it develops.
BROOKLYN, Kompas.com - Rencana pertarungan puncak UFC 223 terancam batal setelah juara kelas bulu Max Holloway dinyatakan tidak siap untuk menghadapi Khabib Nurmagomedov. Holloway (19-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) dinyatakan tidak siap secara medis untuk rencana pertarungan menghadapi Nurmagomedov (25-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC), pekan ini. Padahal Holloway juga merupakan petarung pengganti setelah lawan sesungguhnya, Tony Ferguson (23-3 MMA, 13-1 UFC) mengalami cedera lutut. Pertarungan Nurmagomedov-Holloway akan dilakukan di kelas ringan dan akan menggantikan juara bertahan Conor McGregor . Skenario terburuk adalah mempertemukan Nurmagomedov dengan mantan juara kelas ringan, Anthony Pettis. Petarung yang memiliki frekor bertarung 20-7 MMA, 7-6 UFC ini sebenarnya akan bertarung menghadapi Michael Chiesa (14-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) sebagai partai tambahan. Namun Chiesa mengalami cedera di kepala akibat insiden yang melibatkan Conor McGregor di parkiran bus. Namun untuk menghadapi Nurmagomedov, Pettis harus menyesuaikan berat badan, juga harus mendapatkan ijin dari Komisi Atletik New Ypork. Kalau pun terwujud, pertarungan ini dianggap tidak sepadan. Pettis kalah dalam empat dari enam pertarungannnya yang terakhir. Ia mengalami kekalahan KO saat pertarungan terakhir menghadapi Dustin Poirie pada UFC Night 120, November lalu. UFC 223 akan berlangsung Sabtu ini di Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York.
Gallery Photos: Best of Max Holloway view 40 images
MMA nutrition consultant George Lockhart said UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway had energy to spare and was progressing well during his weight cut.
But the New York State Athletic Commission looked at numbers Holloway was up against and quickly decided it was unsafe to cut more weight.
“That was all she wrote,” Lockhart today told MMAjunkie.
Lockhart declined to say where Holloway (19-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) started the weight cut, which he told multiple MMA outlets was tied for the biggest drop in his career as a nutrition consultant.
Lockhart also declined to reveal what Holloway’s weight was when the NYSAC declared him medically unfit to weigh in for a bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov (25-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) on Saturday at UFC 223.
MMAjunkie reporter Mike Bohn said the featherweight champ was 159 pounds when he was ruled out of the fight.
I’m told Max Holloway hit 159 pounds before he was pulled from #UFC223 — Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) April 6, 2018
Tyler Minton, who also works with Holloway as a nutritionist, said the champ’s weight cut was on target.
The cut was going great actually… — Tyler Melee Minton (@TheMeleeWay) April 6, 2018
Holloway is now rehydrating and “feeling like himself again” after a crash weight cut Lockhart told multiple media outlets was tied for the biggest weight cut of his career. In a statement, the featherweight champ apologized to Nurmagomedov and said he wanted to continue cutting weight.
“I would have loved to have seen the fight, but not at the cost of fighter’s health,” Lockhart said.
Despite the last-minute scratch, Lockhart doesn’t place any blame with the New York commission. He admits if he was in their place, he might have pulled the plug.
But Lockhart also notes that Holloway is unlike any other fighter he’s ever worked with, and if there was anyone who could’ve pulled off such a huge weight cut, it would be “Blessed.”
“When they came in, with the numbers they looked at, if I would have seen those, I would have thought the exact same thing,” he said. “The reason I took this is because it’s Max Holloway, because Max has got the mindset and cuts like nobody I’ve ever seen before.
“He wanted this title fight, and our company could have been on the safe side and just said, ‘No, we’re not going to do it, because we’re going to get a lot of slack for it.’ But this guy is a dream shot, and looking at what he’s done before, this is a possibility. We’ll take that risk if Max does what he’s supposed to.”
Lockhart said Holloway hit the treadmill almost the moment he arrived in New York and was on track to make weight.
“The No. 1 thing for us is the safety of the fighters,” he said. “I don’t give two craps about a 100 percent success rate. We’ve had people miss before where it wasn’t safe, so this is one of those instances, and (the commission) did their job. I’m not mad at them.”
For more on UFC 223, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
