| 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]
Rafael Souza dos Anjos is a Brazilian American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former UFC Lightweight Champion and a former top contender in the Welterweight division. As of January 17, 2023, he is #9 in the UFC lightweight rankings.
Anthony Paul Pettis is an American professional mixed martial artist. 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 Poirier is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is a former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion. As of May 9, 2022, he is #2 in the UFC lightweight rankings and as of May 9, 2023, he is #13 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
Anthony Armand Ferguson Padilla is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight 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 mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). In the 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 Keli'i Holloway is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2010, Holloway became the UFC Featherweight Champion when he defeated José Aldo on June 3, 2017, before defending the title three times. As of April 18, 2023, he is #2 in UFC featherweight rankings, and as of May 9, 2023 he is #12 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 currently 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. As of April 11, 2023, he is #12 in the UFC welterweight rankings.
Paul Felder is an American retired professional mixed martial artist and color commentator for UFC. He competed in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2011, Felder also fought for the Cage Fury Fighting Championships.
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