“UFC 223” set to happen in Brooklyn, New York, on Sunday (Manila time) saw a change in its headlining fight but remains a must-see event, said a local combat sports writer and observer.
Originally set as a fight between interim champion Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson and number two contender Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov for the undisputed lightweight championship in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the marquee match will now see Russian Khabib with a new opponent when he sets foot in the Octagon at the Barclays Center.
Stepping in place of Mr. Ferguson, who had to pull out at the last minute because of a knee injury, is reigning featherweight champion Max “Blessed” Holloway, who is now in a position to add his name to an elite list of multi-division UFC champions, which include the currently inactive lightweight champion Conor “The Notorious” McGregor, in the event of a victory.
But while the Ferguson-Khabib fight had “explosive” written all over, still for Mike Miguel, writer for RealFight.ph, the “reconfigured” main event for UFC 223 with Messrs. Khabib and Holloway now featured is hardly a short change and fans will still be treated to a solid encounter.
“Ferguson’s injury definitely left a huge void in the title picture at 155 [pounds]. After Conor McGregor decided to take his timeout after winning the belt, a much-needed bout for the division to go forward was needed and the Ferguson-Khabib fight fitted the bill,” rued Mr. Miguel when asked by BusinessWorld for his thoughts.
“Holloway took the fight on six days’ notice, and coming off an injury of his own, you have to commend the featherweight champ’s bravado to take on the Russian. It will be interesting to see how the two will square off on fight night and that in itself is enough for the fans to be interested for this bout,” he added.
Mr. Miguel went on to say that he expects Mr. Khabib (25-0) to pose problems to Mr. Holloway (19-3) but just the same is not discounting the heart and skills of the latter.
“I’m expecting Khabib to constantly put the pressure on Holloway to get the gold. But I’ll not be surprised if Holloway pulls off an upset especially if Khabib chooses to exchange leather with him,” Mr. Miguel said.
CO-MAIN EVENT
Meanwhile, serving as co-main event is the title rematch between women’s strawweight champion “Thug” Rose Namajunas and former champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
The last time the two met, Ms. Namajunas (8-3) sprung a surprise, stopping the erstwhile undefeated Jedrzejczyk (14-1) by technical knockout in the first round to claim the title.
Coming from where it was previously, Namajunas-Jedrzejczyk 2 is also something to watch out for, Mr. Miguel said.
“Roles have changed for these two ladies for their rematch. The former changed some things which affected her performance in their first fight. If she successfully implements them, we can expect the ferocious and more methodical Jedrzejczyk making a strong push for Namajunas’ title,” the writer said.
“But what is impressive about Thug Rose is her composure. Even against the already-intimidating Pole, Namajunas didn’t let her emotions get the better of her last time around and fought her game plan to a T, which she must continue doing in this fight,” Mr. Miguel added.
Other fights in the main card of UFC 223 are featherweight Renato Moicano against Calivin Kattar, lightweight Michael “Maverick” Chiesa versus Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, and lightweight Al Iaquinta against Paul Felder.
UFC 223: Khabib vs. Holloway will be shown live on Sunday, beginning at 10 a.m. over Hyper Ch. 91 in SD or 261 in HD on Cignal TV. Encore telecast is at 6 p.m. on the same day.
In the Philippines, Cignal TV, the country’s foremost direct-to-home (DTH) company, is the home of the UFC after the two groups agreed to an extensive deal that will see the UFC beamed on various platforms. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
