Max Holloway going for two UFC belts, including McGregor’s lightweight title
Until his crazed reappearance Thursday, two-belt champion Conor McGregor had vanished from the UFC along with his riches.
Enter Max Holloway, the organization’s featherweight champion who will put his 12-fight unbeaten streak on the line in Saturday’s UFC 223 main event against unbeaten Russian Khabib Nurmadomedov (25-0). Holloway is filling in on short notice to replace the injured Tony Ferguson and will attempt to match McGregor’s feat of having two division title belts at the same time.
“Khabib is one of the best in the world and to be the best you have to beat the best,” Holloway (19-3) told reporters.
Refreshing words, especially as they contrast with the turn that Ireland’s McGregor has taken after becoming the UFC’s first simultaneous two-belt champion with his stoppage of then-lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez in November 2016 at Madison Square Garden.
McGregor took his lucrative payday of $100 million following the technical-knockout boxing loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in August and has spent more time making news outside the UFC octagon than inside.
On Thursday, following the UFC media-day event at Barclays Center, McGregor, accompanied by his entourage, sought to slam a metal security railing against a van carrying fighters including Nurmagomedov. Recent flyweight title challenger Ray Borg said on Twitter that McGregor threw a glass that resulted in a cut atop the head of lightweight fighter Michael Chiesa, who was scheduled to fight on Saturday’s pay-per-view card.
When McGregor returns now is unknown. UFC President Dana White was left with little choice but to tell Nurmagomedov when he signed to originally fight Ferguson earlier this year that Saturday’s bout would be for the full lightweight belt.
Holloway, whose win streak dates to a 2013 loss to McGregor, declared himself recovered from an ankle injury that took him out of his scheduled March 3 title defense against Frankie Edgar, and now the clock ticks to Friday morning’s official weigh-in with Holloway facing a massive weight cut and Nurmagomedov seeking to avoid a repeat of health trouble that stopped him from fighting Ferguson last year during his weight cut.
“I’ve been training and I’m ready,” Holloway said, formally agreeing to the fight just six days before fight night at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Easter Sunday. “Khabib is the best, so that’s enough reason to take this fight, but there is no one else like Max Holloway.”
Holloway posted back-to-back victories over long-reigning featherweight champion Jose Aldo of Brazil, impressively stopping Aldo in the third round in December with superb striking and rapid movement.
“Everyone is talking about me taking this fight on short notice, but so is [Nurmagomedov] with me,” Holloway said.
While Nurmagomedov will seek to get the lankier Holloway to the canvas, the Russian will face a difficult test when both men are standing.
White seems genuinely enthused, not only by the curiosity of the outcome, but in what – beyond money – prompted Holloway to boldly accept the challenge.
“He’s a stud for taking this fight,” White said.
Because of his size -- and with a McGregor return this year more likely than not – Holloway said he will determine after a potential victory about whether to return to featherweight for a title defense against Los Angeles’ No. 1 contender Brian Ortega, or remain a lightweight and press McGregor for a rematch.
First comes Nurmagomedov, a gifted wrestler who manhandled then-No. 4-rated lightweight Edson Barboza so thoroughly in December, the judges awarded him scores of 30-25, 30-25, 30-24.
Describing his mood as “relaxed and confident,” Holloway said he was moved to step into the opening because “this is how you become a legend.”
UFC 223
Main Event: Khabib Nurmagomedov (25-0) vs. featherweight champion Max Holloway (19-3) for UFC lightweight belt
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn
Television/time: pay-per-view, $64.95, begins Saturday at 7 p.m. Pacific; preliminaries on FS1 begin at 5 p.m.
Undercard: Rose Namajunas (8-3) vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (14-1) for Namajunas’ women’s straw-weight belt; No. 11 Renato Moicano (11-1-1) vs. No. 13 Calvin Kattar (18-2), featherweights; No. 9 Michael Chiesa (14-3) vs. No. 12 Anthony Pettis (20-7), lightweights; No. 11 Al Iaquinta (13-3-1) vs. Paul Felder (15-3), lightweights
Follow Lance Pugmire on Twitter @latimespugmire
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