Tony Ferguson Injured; Max Holloway Steps Up to Face Khabib Nurmagomedov in UFC 223 Main Event

This is no April Fools joke.

A knee injury has forced interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson out of UFC 223 and now featherweight king Max Holloway will step up on just six days notice to face Khabib Nurmagomedov in the new main event this Saturday night in Brooklyn.

The fight between Holloway and Nurmagomedov will determine a new UFC lightweight champion.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the news on Sunday.

BOOM!!!!!! We got Khabib vs The Champ Max Holloway for the 155lb title this Saturday in Brooklyn New York!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/quvI3UqGXh

— Dana White (@danawhite) April 1, 2018

It was a stunning turn of events after Ferguson suffered a knee injury just days away from meeting Nurmagomedov in one of the most highly anticipated fights of 2018. This is the fourth time a matchup between Ferguson and Nurmagomedov has been cancelled as it begins to look like this fight is cursed to never actually happen.

Thankfully, Holloway was willing to step up to the challenge with an opportunity to become the second ever simultaneous two division champion while facing a very tough challenge in Nurmagomedov in just six days.

Holloway has been out due to an ankle injury but his recovery has been going well and it appears he will return with a chance to add a second title to his resume after winning and defending the featherweight crown last year.

As for Nurmagomedov, he will still fight for the lightweight championship, although he now faces a much different challenge in Holloway than what he was preparing for with Ferguson.

Nurmagomedov vs. Holloway will now headline the UFC 223 card on Saturday night with strawweight champion Rose Namajunas facing Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the co-main event.