This Saturday, UFC 223’s main event sees Khabib Nurmagomedov (25-0 MMA; 9-0 UFC) takes on… Al Iaquinta (13-3-1 MMA; 8-2 UFC). The winner will be some form of the UFC Lightweight champion, maybe. The UFC rankings have Khabib at #2 in the division, #14 pound for pound, with Iaquinta #11 at Lightweight. UFC 223: Khabib vs. Iaquinta airs live from Brooklyn this Saturday night, April 7. The main card airs on PPV with a fight time of 10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT, with the prelims starting at 8:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1. There no longer are any Fight Pass prelims.
There’s a lot of backstory to this fight. Like, a LOT. Originally, this was of course designed as Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson. But when Ferguson tripped (yes, tripped), he suffered an injury and had to withdraw. Featherweight champion Max Holloway stepped in, but yesterday was pulled by commission officials because of a tough weight cut. Anthony Pettis was considered, but they couldn’t come to terms; Paul Felder was considered but nixed by the commission for not being ranked, and so enter Al Iaquinta. Further complicating things is the title picture. Ferguson is the interim Lightweight champion, Conor McGregor is the Lightweight champion, but the winner here will be the Lightweight champion, with Conor being stripped and Ferguson keeping his interim belt. But that’s only if Khabib wins – since Iaquinta weighed in 0.2 pounds over the 155 pound limit and was for some reason not allowed to weigh in again without his boxers on, he did not make championship weight, so can not win whatever belt they are fighting for. Got it?
How do these two stack up?
Khabib: 29 years old | 5’10″ | 70″ reach
Iaquinta: 30 years old | 5’9″ | 70″ reach
What have these two done recently?
Khabib: W – Edson Barboza (UD) | W – Michael Johnson (Sub) | W – Darrell Horcher (TKO)
Iaquinta: W – Diego Sanchez (KO) | W – Jorge Masvidal (SD) | W – Joe Lauzon (TKO)
How did these two get here?
Khabib Nurmagomedov is the undefeated smashing machine from Dagestan. He’s used his dominant wrestling to run through every opponent, putting together a very impressive resume. But he’s also had a bit of a start-stop career in the UFC, with fights cancelled due to injury and troubles with weight cut. He missed virtually all of 2017, but ended the year strong with a great win over Barboza. That win propelled him to the title shot. Khabib has developed a real following – it will be interesting to see just how big he can get.
Indeed, how does Ragin’ Al find himself here? Iaquinta came to the UFC on season 15 of TUF, where he was runner-up to Michael Chiesa. The Serra-Longo fighter is currently on a 5 fight winning streak that dates back to 2014. Always a very vocal antagonist to the UFC’s management, Ragin’ Al entered a very public contract dispute in 2015. As a result, he’s fought just once in the past 3 years, knocking out Diego Sanchez one year ago. Iaquinta is a proud New Yorker – expect him to have a vocal crowd here in Brooklyn.
Why should you care?
You shouldn’t. Yes it’s MMA, so anything can happen, but let’s be real – this is not a good main event, not a good title fight. It is what it is.