| UFC 223: Khabib vs. Iaquinta | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 223: Khabib vs. Iaquinta | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | April 7, 2018 | |||
| Venue | Barclays Center | |||
| City | Brooklyn, New York | |||
| Attendance | 17,026 [1] | |||
| Total gate | $3,007,108 [1] | |||
| Buyrate | 350,000 [2] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 223: Khabib vs. Iaquinta was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on April 7, 2018, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. [3]
A UFC Lightweight Championship bout between interim champion and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos welterweight winner Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov was originally expected to headline this event. [4] The pairing had previously been scheduled and cancelled for various reasons on three occasions over the previous three years (The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber Finale, UFC on Fox: Teixeira vs. Evans and UFC 209). [5] [6] [7] Due to the inactivity of former UFC Featherweight Champion and current lightweight champion Conor McGregor, the promotion has indicated that he would be stripped of his title and that the winner of the proposed Ferguson/Nurmagomedov bout would become the undisputed champion. [8] Despite confirming on January 19 that the winner of this bout would become the de facto champion, UFC president Dana White did not confirm if McGregor would be stripped. [9]
For the fourth time in four years, the bout fell apart, as Ferguson pulled out of the fight on April 1 due to a knee injury. He was replaced by then UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway. If successful, Holloway would have become only the second fighter to be champion in two divisions simultaneously (after McGregor who won the lightweight title at UFC 205 when he was the reigning featherweight champion) as well as the fifth overall to win titles in different divisions. [10] On weigh-in day, the main event suffered another set back as Holloway was deemed medically unfit to compete and then removed from the event. [11] The UFC targeted former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis as his replacement, after Pettis' bout against Michael Chiesa was scrapped due to an incident caused by McGregor (see section below). Pettis weighed in at 155.2 pounds in his first attempt, and despite being given extra time to make the championship weight limit of 155 pounds, he did not weigh in again. [12]
After Holloway was pulled from the event, Paul Felder also offered to step in to face Nurmagomedov as he weighed in at 155, but the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) declined it due to Felder being unranked in the UFC official rankings. [13] The UFC booked Felder's opponent Al Iaquinta instead. [14] Due to weighing 0.2 lb over the championship weight limit, Iaquinta would not be officially eligible for the title in case he won, but UFC president Dana White expressed that he would be considered champion by the UFC, and treated as such to the extent possible under regulations. [15] The NYSAC later reaffirmed that Iaquinta could not be officially recognized as champion. [16] Both Felder and Pettis were also off the event. [14] The bout between Iaquinta and Felder was originally scheduled for UFC 218. However, Iaquinta pulled out due to an undisclosed injury and the bout was rescheduled for this event. [17] [18]
A UFC Women's Strawweight Championship bout between the current champion Rose Namajunas and former champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk served as the co-headliner for this event. [19] The pairing previously met in November 2017 at UFC 217 with Namajunas winning the title via knockout in the first round. [20]
Mairbek Taisumov was expected to face Evan Dunham at the event. However, Taisumov withdrew from the fight on March 9 over visa delays. [21] Dunham faced Olivier Aubin-Mercier at the event. [22]
On April 5, following the event's media day, Conor McGregor and his crew attacked a bus containing several fighters scheduled to compete at the event, just as it was leaving the arena following a press conference. Nurmagomedov and two teammates were inside that bus. The attack included objects being thrown through a window, which then shattered. [23] As a result of this act, the event suffered several changes:
McGregor eventually turned himself in to the NYPD and was held in custody as charges were filed. He was later arrested alongside SBG teammate Cian Cowley and charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief. [28] They were released with a bail of $50,000 and $25,000, respectively. [29] The charges were dropped in late July after McGregor pleaded no contest to a count of disorderly conduct for his role in the melee and performed five days of community service. [30] [31] [32]
| Main Card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Lightweight | Khabib Nurmagomedov | def. | Al Iaquinta | Decision (unanimous) (50–44, 50–43, 50–43) | 5 | 5:00 | [lower-alpha 1] |
| Women's Strawweight | Rose Namajunas (c) | def. | Joanna Jędrzejczyk | Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–46, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | [lower-alpha 2] |
| Featherweight | Renato Moicano | def. | Calvin Kattar | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Zabit Magomedsharipov | def. | Kyle Bochniak | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Chris Gruetzemacher | def. | Joe Lauzon | TKO (corner stoppage) | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1) | |||||||
| Women's Strawweight | Karolina Kowalkiewicz | def. | Felice Herrig | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Olivier Aubin-Mercier | def. | Evan Dunham | TKO (knees to the body and punches) | 1 | 0:53 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Ashlee Evans-Smith | def. | Bec Rawlings | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Devin Clark | def. | Mike Rodríguez | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses: [34]
Anthony Paul Pettis is an American professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer. Pettis formerly fought in the Welterweight, Lightweight, and Featherweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Professional Fighters League (PFL). He is a former UFC Lightweight Champion. Pettis was also the final WEC Lightweight Champion prior to the promotion being merged into the UFC.
Dustin Glenn Poirier is an American professional mixed martial artist. He competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion. As of April 16, 2024, he is #4 in the UFC lightweight rankings.
Anthony Armand Ferguson Padilla is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion. Ferguson debuted in 2008, and has been with the UFC since he won The Ultimate Fighter 13 in 2011. He is trained in freestyle wrestling, boxing, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai, and Wing Chun.
Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He was the longest-reigning UFC Lightweight Champion ever, having held the title from April 2018 to March 2021. With 29 wins and no losses, he retired with an undefeated record. Nurmagomedov is widely considered to be among the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on June 30, 2022.
Jerome Max Kelii Holloway is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight and Lightweight divisions in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC BMF Champion and a former UFC Featherweight Champion. As of February 20, 2024, he is #2 in the UFC featherweight rankings, and as of April 16, 2024, he is #9 in the UFC lightweight rankings and #8 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
Al Iaquinta is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, having once challenged for the Lightweight championship belt. A professional MMA competitor since 2009, Iaquinta has been signed with the UFC since 2012.
Michael Keith Chiesa is an American professional mixed martial artist and sports analyst who competes in the welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional mixed martial artist since 2008, Chiesa was the winner of FX's inaugural The Ultimate Fighter: Live.
Paul Felder is an American retired professional mixed martial artist and color commentator currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As a fighter, Felder competed in the UFC's Lightweight division after making his name in Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC).
UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz was a mixed martial arts event held on March 5, 2016 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor was a mixed martial arts event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 12, 2016, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
UFC 209: Woodley vs. Thompson 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on March 4, 2017, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area.
UFC 218: Holloway vs. Aldo 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on December 2, 2017, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
UFC 226: Miocic vs. Cormier was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 7, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area.
UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that was held on October 6, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.
UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 9, 2020 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It was originally planned to take place on April 18 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, United States. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was eventually postponed (see section below). On April 21, the UFC confirmed that UFC 249 would be moved to May 9 and take place in Florida.
UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 24, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 16, 2021, at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 24, 2021 at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
UFC 262: Oliveira vs. Chandler was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 15, 2021 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States.
UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 5, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.
