The best and worst from UFC 223
UFC 223 was always going to be a somewhat odd event – losing the big main event of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson was gutting but the strange replacement of Khabib vs. Max Holloway only gave it a more bizarre tone and obviously that continued with the McGregor-related shenanigans late last week that decimated the card overall.
In the end – with Holloway declared medically unfit and Paul Felder and Anthony Pettis both ruled out too - the outright crazy main event of Khabib vs. Al Iaquinta seemed somehow to fit the whole debacle. It wasn’t the deepest card of the year but UFC 223 still delivered some good – and some bad – points. Here are six of them.
#1 Best: Khabib is a star and he might be unstoppable
Sure, he didn’t win it in the way he might’ve hoped, but Khabib Nurmagomedov is finally the undisputed UFC Lightweight champion despite not actually beating either of the last two men to hold the title. But realistically, is anyone going to argue that the Dagestani isn’t the best 155lbs fighter in the world right now? It’s probably doubtful.
Nurmagomedov has run through everyone he’s been faced with in the UFC since his debut in 2012 – from Rafael Dos Anjos and Michael Johnson to Edson Barboza and now Al Iaquinta, none of them seemed capable of handling the insane grappling game and improved striking of ‘The Eagle’. The best part for the UFC is that the fans seem to be catching on, too. Despite last night’s event taking place in Iaquinta’s New York stomping ground, the more popular fighter appeared to be Khabib.
So after Iaquinta had nothing for him, who’s next for the new champion? Logic would suggest – particularly with Conor McGregor likely sidelined for a while – that the Tony Ferguson fight would have to be made again, with everyone keeping their fingers crossed that the fifth booking of the match would actually go ahead. Nurmagomedov himself called out Georges St-Pierre last night but I just don’t see that happening, so to me, Ferguson clearly makes the most sense.
Either way, it doesn’t matter – everyone now views Nurmagomedov as the world’s best at 155lbs and after last night – even if it was against a late replacement – it seems that there’s light at the end of the post-McGregor tunnel at Lightweight.