Chaos struck the Barclays Center in Thursday night when UFC superstar Conor McGregor decided to pay several fighters from the UFC 223 fight card a visit. Following an incident that left several competitors unable to fight on the card, here is an updated look at UFC 223.
The UFC 223 Media Day went down inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Thursday. “Notorious” reportedly used credentials from media members of his own company The Mac Life to permit a group of his entourage backstage for the event.
Once backstage, the group confronted a bus full of fighters set to compete at UFC 223. The bus was pummeled with a series of items. A loading dolly was allegedly thrown by Conor McGregor at the bus.
The dolly smashed a window of the bus, injuring multiple fighters. Ray Borg and Michael Chiesa have since been pulled from each of their UFC 223 match ups due to injury from the incident.
McGregor would go on to turn himself in to local authorities, now facing three charges of misdemeanor assault and one felony charge of criminal mischief. McGregor’s teammate Artem Lobov has since been pulled from his fight against Alex Caceres for his alleged involvement in the fracas.
Chiesa was initially set to face Anthony Pettis, but has been pulled from the fight after suffering lacerations to his face from the incident. Ray Borg will no longer be fighting Brandon Moreno, as Borg has been having issues closing his eyes due to particles of glass from the broken bus window.
Of course, the night’s main event has experienced its own drama as of late. Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov were initially set to fight for the UFC lightweight title. However, Ferguson was pulled from the fight on just six days notice after tearing his LCL by tripping on a cable at a recent media event.
Replacement opponent and UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway has also been pulled from the night’s headliner, as the fighter was deemed unfit to finish his weight cut. Consequently, Al Iaquinta has stepped up on short notice to face Khabib Nurmagomedov in the exciting main event.
As Iaquinta did not make championship weight, the fighter is not eligible for the UFC lightweight title. However, Nurmagomedov will become the new lightweight champion if he is victorious.
Paul Felder and Al Iaquinta were initially set to face off on the night’s card, so Felder has since been pulled from the event. Check out the updated fight card down below:
UFC 223 Main Card (PPV; 10 p.m. ET):
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Al Iaquinta
Rose Namajunas vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Calvin Kattar vs. Renato Moicano
Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Kyle Bochniak
Joe Lauzon vs. Chris Gruetzemacher
UFC 223 Prelims (FS1; 8 p.m. ET):
Felice Herrig vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Bec Rawlings
Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Evan Dunham
Devin Clark vs. Michael Rodriguez
