UFC 223 has devolved into a true mess. While Conor McGregor was busy sorting out his legal problems, the show's main event fell out yet again.
UFC Featherweight Max Holloway was pulled from the show and his planned fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov is now off after the New York State Athletic Commission deemed him unable to compete after a tough weight cut. In his place will be #11-ranked lightweight "Ragin'" Al Iaquinta. But the drama was far from as simple as that.
Initially, the UFC offered the bout to former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony "Showtime" Pettis, who was rejected due to his overture to be paid more for the spot. Pettis was originally set to face Michael Chiesa at the event, until Chiesa was pulled due to lacerations from the Conor McGregor incident.
Next, the fight was presented to Paul Felder, who showed up at the championship weight of 155 pounds and angled for the fight. However, the New York State Athletic Commission refused to allow him to compete as he wasn't ranked in the UFC's official rankings -- a system the UFC never wanted to institute to begin with, and did primarily due to pressure from Fox. It's worth noting that Felder is ranked #14 in the Fightful MMA Rankings, and #9 on analytic based FightMatrix.
Iaquinta then got the fight, but is now ineligible to win the championship. He weighed in early at 155.2 pounds, planning to fight Felder -- his originally scheduled opponents. As it was a non-title fight, he was granted the extra half-pound that isn't afforded in championship fights. He weighed in wearing underwear -- which likely would have been enough to put him at the championship weight. Due to New York's rules, he was only allowed to weigh in up to two hours later, which wasn't enough time considering the situation.
Many expected Felder and Pettis to get matched up as a result, but are both off the card, as they're teammates. Fightful.com will have full live coverage of UFC 223 Saturday night. Joe Lauzon vs. Chris Gruetzemacher has been promoted to the UFC 223 main card You can see the updated card below.
Main Card (10 PM EST, PPV)
UFC Undisputed Lightweight Championship
#11 Al Iaquinta (13-3-1) (ineligble to win title) vs. #2 Khabib Nurmagomedov (25-0)
UFC Women's Strawweight Title Fight
Rose Namajunas (c) (8-3) vs. #1 Joanna Jedrzejczyk (14-1)
Renato Moicano (11-1-1) vs. Calvin Kattar (18-2)
Zabit Magomedsharipov (14-1) vs. Kyle Bochniak (8-2)
Joe Lauzon (27-15) vs. Chris Gruetzemacher (13-3)
Fox Sports 1
#4 Karolina Kowalkiewicz (11-2) vs. #8 Felice Herrig (14-6)
Ashlee Evans-Smith (5-3) vs. Bec Rawlings (7-7)
Mike Rodriguez (9-2) vs. Devin Clark (8-2)
#14 Evan Dunham (18-6-1) vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier (10-2)