The UFC had at least two options to give Khabib Nurmagomedov a fight at UFC 223, according to Dana White.
When Tony Ferguson blew out his knee, Dana White must have been pulling his hair out in frustration. For the fourth time, arguably the greatest lightweight contest in history fell through before fight night. To make matters worse, the proximity to the event meant that booking a replacement was highly improbable.
However, it was all sorted relatively quickly. The day after Ferguson suffered the freak injury, Max Holloway was confirmed as his replacement. Manager Brian Butler-Au revealed Holloway’s exact words upon receiving the offer during an interview on the MMA Hour. According to Butler-Au, the featherweight king didn’t hesitate with his response.
“Let’s fucking do it, bro. This is how legends are made.”
Mystic John #UFC223 https://t.co/lo3xGqXLkB
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) April 2, 2018
Options
Fighting anyone on less than a weeks’ notice is a tall order. Taking on a 25-0 grappling force with such little time to prepare is almost too tough to comprehend. However, Holloway was a more than willing participant.
The Hawaiian wasn’t the only fighter who accepted the call. In fact, he wasn’t even the only featherweight who was ready to step in. The likely next challenger to Holloway’s throne, Brian Ortega, announced on Twitter that he accepted an offer to fight Nurmagomedov.
Ortega claimed he was so quick off the draw that he actually responded before Holloway. Had ‘Blessed’ or his management not given an answer, this weekend’s main event could have looked a little different.
For the record, Dana called me yesterday to see if I would step in against Khabib since Max hadn’t responded yet. I said yes. Eventually, Max replied and Dana gave him the fight. If all goes according to plan, I’ll get my turn – at both of them.
— Brian Ortega (@BrianTcity) April 2, 2018
If you’re sceptical about Ortega’s post, he provided some support to back it up.
Not only did Dana White like his Instagram post, but he also commented on it with one word, all in caps – TRUTH.
For those who say im lying, just going to leave this up here for you. Have a good day 😁. New York see you this weekend! pic.twitter.com/mPIXYsQwOi
— Brian Ortega (@BrianTcity) April 2, 2018
Had Ortega vs Nurmagomedov been booked, the headline act would have comprised of fighters with a combined record of 39-0-1NC. that’s pretty much unheard of in this unpredictable sport.
