The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has had a hectic experience attempting to lock down a main event for the highly anticipated fight card of UFC 223. Following the scheduling of Al Iaquinta as the second replacement opponent for undefeated UFC lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov, it has been revealed that Iaquinta is now eligible for the UFC lightweight title.
The UFC initially locked down Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov for the main event of UFC 223, as the two fighters were set to compete for the undisputed lightweight title. However, Ferguson was forced to pull out of the event on just siz days notice after suffering an injury.
UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway accepted a severely short notice offer to replace Ferguson in the night’s main event. However, Holloway was pulled from the fight just over 24-hours before the event after being deemed unfit to finish his weight cut.
On just a day’s notice, Al Iaquinta has now accepted a fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov for the headliner of UFC 223. However, there was initially some confusion as to if the mixed martial artist was eligible for the UFC lightweight title or not.
For UFC championship match ups, fighters must make weight, with no one pound exceptions. Iaquinta came in on the scales at 155.2 pounds, just 0.2 pounds heavy of championship weight. Initially, reports claimed the fighter was ineligible for the lightweight title due to his weight, but Nurmagomedov would still granted the title if he was victorious.
However, UFC President Dana White has since claimed that Iaquinta will be considered champion if he defeats his opponent on Saturday night. UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and interim title holder Tony Ferguson are set to be stripped of their titles on Saturday night as Iaquinta and Nurmagomedov battle it out for the undisputed title.
Still, there is some confusion concerning the commissions role in the matter. Dana White has since revealed that the New York State Athletic Commission will not allow a fighter over championship weight to be crowned champion, leading to a difficult situation for the promotion.
Still, White claims Iaquinta will be made eligible for the title. ESPN recently offered their report over the matter.
“So right now, McGregor is still champ, but will be stripped. Tony is interim champ, but that will ‘go away.’ Khabib and Al for the undisputed tomorrow, but we can’t call it that because of a weird NY commission.
“So it’s a half-title (wink wink, nudge nudge) fight. Superb.”
