If you are anything like me, you were SUPER disappointed to hear the news that Tony Ferguson was out of his UFC 223 fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov. As it turns out Ferguson injured his knee and it will require surgery. This struck a major blow to what was an amazing UFC 223 card.
That major blow was quickly wiped away when UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway decided to step up and go down a weight class to fight Nurmagomedov and essentially save the UFC 223 card.
Max Holloway faces a tough weight cut. As Jesse Holland from Bloody Elbow writes “If you thought UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway was going to wake up on Friday morning, take a s#!t on the way to the UFC 223 weigh ins and easily hit the 155-pound mark, I’m sorry to report that “Blessed” is in for a pretty rough weak.”
Holloway’s manager Brian Butler-Au told “The MMA Hour,” the promotion wanted this weekend’s headliner to be for the lightweight title, which means Holloway will have to whittle his way down to the 155-pound limit (not an ounce over).
Fortunately, nutritionist George Lockhart — on loan from Joanna Jedrzejczyk — is going to work his magic over the next few days.
“This is literally tied with the biggest cut I’ve ever done. It’s the exact same number as the biggest cut that I’ve ever done in my life,” Lockhart told Bloody Elbow. “The way he cut weight for his last fight showed me the kid’s an animal and he’s very disciplined, so we went ahead with it. I know Max is going to do what he needs to do.”
So, assuming that the weight cut goes off without a hitch, we re in for one amazing UFC 223 fight between two of the sports most dominant figures.
Andy Gonzalez is a coach at Aces Jiu Jitsu Club. He has earned his BJJ Brown Belt under 2nd Degree Black Belt, Professor Mikal Abdullah. Follow Andy on Twitter at @GoGoGonzilla
Andy lives in Austin, Texas with his wife Amanda and their 3 beautiful children. Andy is also the father of a Marine who is honorably serving in the United States Marine Corps.