The main highlight of the UFC 223 card on Saturday night was always undefeated Russian sensation Khabib Nurmagomedov finally getting a shot at a title in UFC. While that will still be taking place on Saturday, it just won't be against the originally scheduled opponent -- or the original replacement, for that matter.
In the main event of UFC 223 on Saturday, Nurmagomedov will step into the Octagon to face off with Al Iaquinta following what was maybe the most insane week in UFC history. Interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson was pulled from the scheduled bout following a freak accident last week, and his original stand-in, featherweight champion Max Holloway, was deemed medically unfit to compete on Friday by the New York State Athletic Commission. The circumstances opened up the opportunity for Iaquinta to participate in the fight of his career.
Al Iaquinta, who was scheduled to face off with Paul Felder on the card, will take on Nurmagomedov now, but will be unable to claim the title after missing the 155-pound limit by 0.2 pounds.
Meanwhile, Thursday's incident, which led to criminal charges for current lightweight champion Conor McGregor, UFC removed his teammate, Artem Lobov, from the card and injuries to Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg from the debris will not allow them to compete on the card.
In addition to the title fight, newly crowned women's strawweight champion Rose Namajunas will face off with the woman she took the belt from in Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the rematch from last November when Namajunas shocked the world and stopped the undefeated champion in the first round.
To recap, UFC 223 was originally scheduled to feature 13 fights. It will now be nine and have no early prelim bouts.
Here's how the fight card looks as of now with plenty of changes and odds movement on the books.
UFC 223 fight card, prelims
| Fight | Weightclass |
|---|---|
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Al Iaquinta | Lightweight title |
Rose Namajunas (c) vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk | Women's strawweight title |
| Calvin Kattar vs. Renato Moicano | Featherweight |
| Kyle Bochniak vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov | Featherweight |
Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Felice Herrig | Women's strawweight |
| Joe Lauzon vs. Chris Gruetzemacher | Lightweight |
| Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Bec Rawlings | Women's flyweight |
| Evan Dunham vs. Mairbek Taisumov | Lightweight |
| Devin Clark vs. Michael Rodriguez | Light heavyweight |
For more UFC fights and the up-to-date event schedule, please click here.
