Holloway deemed unfit to compete, Khabib-Pettis new main event as UFC 223 drama continues

The UFC 223 drama continues.

Due to weight cutting issues, Max Holloway has been pulled from his main event title bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov. Holloway was tapped to fill in for an injured Tony Ferguson on just six days notice and could not make a healthy cut down to 155 lbs. Enter Anthony Pettis.

. @TeamKhabib my brother I want to keep going but they are stopping me. Sorry to your team and the fans. You don’t deserve this. This is number one. Shout outs to you and @Showtimepettis . Give the fans what they deserve

— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) April 6, 2018

According to reports, Holloway was walking around at somewhere between 170-175 lbs when called upon to save the UFC 223 main event.

With his fight against Michael Chiesa off the books due to the already infamous Conor McGregor incident, Anthony Pettis has now been scheduled to replace Holloway. Pettis is just 2-5 in his last seven bouts but does hold clout as a former UFC and WEC lightweight champion.

Pettis weighed in at 155.2 lbs but must cut .2 lbs in 2 hours for the title bout to be official. Nurmagomedov has already hit his mark at 154.5 lbs.

UPDATE: Pettis will not fight after the UFC balked at his request for a bigger payday for the title bout according to reports. Paul Felder, who was scheduled to take on Al Iaquinta, threw his name in the hat as a replacement but was denied by the New York commission due to the fact that he is not a “ranked” fighter. At this moment (12:15 p.m. ET) Nurmagomedov is without an opponent.