UFC 223 locked and loaded
Injury to main event fighter won’t detract from action-packed lineup
Although the frustrating 2018 tradition of losing a main event fighter continued heading into UFC 223 this weekend, the slate of bouts scheduled to take place inside Barclays Center Saturday night in Brooklyn is still every bit as interesting as it was before Monday afternoon.
Losing Tony Ferguson from his main event showdown with Khabib Nurmagomedov less than a week before the fight was a bitter pill to swallow, especially because it’s now four times these star-crossed rivals have been scheduled to meet without actually entering the cage. But UFC President Dana White piggybacked his announcement that Ferguson was out with the news that featherweight champion Max Holloway was going to take his place and battle Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title instead.
As far as short-term fixes go, you can’t get much better than this.
Holloway is an elite talent on a 12-fight winning streak and amped up to make a run at history. By stepping in on short notice, the 26-year-old Hawaiian not only gets the chance to potentially hand the undefeated Nurmagomedov his first professional loss, but if he’s successful, he’ll also become the second person to ever hold championship gold in two weight classes at the same time.
Conor McGregor was the first to do it. He’s also the last man to beat Holloway. All that synergy could actually be enough to lure the absent Irishman back to the Octagon later this year.
As was the case before Ferguson’s removal, Nurmagomedov is still a charismatic smashing machine bent on earning his 26th consecutive victory and establishing himself as the top lightweight in the world. In his eyes, April 7 was always going to be “Khabib Time” and changing opponents doesn’t change that.
And while the alterations atop the fight card have garnered all the attention over the last several days, the rest of the lineup remains intact and just as strong as it has been all along.
Strawweight champ Rose Namajunas remains as low key and focused heading into her rematch with Joanna Jedrzejczyk as she did heading into their first encounter at UFC 217 last November, when she marched into Madison Square Garden and forced everyone to stop calling the Polish standout “Joanna Champion” by knocking her from her perch atop the division.
After talking a whole ton of junk heading into their last meeting and getting lit up, Jedrzjeczyk has eschewed that approach, opting instead to simply declare she is still the best fighter in the division and that she hopes everyone tunes in to see her prove it on Saturday night.
And everyone should. While many pay-per-view events rightfully merit getting put through an “Is this actually worth it?” filter, UFC 223 isn’t one of those cards.
The twin title fights are outstanding matchups with far more than just championship gold hanging in the balance, and the remainder of the main card features a trio of fights between action fighters ranked in the top 15 in two of the most competitive and consistently entertaining divisions in the sport — featherweight and lightweight.
Even the preliminary portion of the card offers intrigue as perennial strawweight contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz takes on resurgent veteran Felice Herrig, Ray Borg and Brandon Moreno clash in a battle of promising young flyweight talents and Canadian Olivier Aubin-Mercier looks to collect the biggest win of his career against lightweight fixture Evan Dunham.
Plus featherweight uber-prospect Zabit Magomedsharipov is set to open the show on Fight Pass. At the start of the year, I called him a hybrid of Anthony Pettis and Nurmagomedov, but taller. Now he’s set to kick off a card that includes both those athletes.
While the last couple pay-per-view events have been considered mediocre cards that turned into pleasant surprises, this isn’t one of those cards where I need to be the sunny, optimistic voice in the room.
This is an excellent fight card from start to finish, even with the switch from Ferguson to Holloway.
Besides, I was right about UFC 221 and UFC 222 being entertaining fight cards that were worth the purchase price, so maybe instead of continuing to tune me out or doubt me, you just take my advice and have yourself a nice little Saturday night watching the fights. You can thank me later.
Enjoy the fisticuffs, friends.