Why Was Max Holloway vs Khabib Nurmagomedov Fight Cancelled at UFC 223?

The last and only other time Max Holloway moved up to lightweight, he was overwhelmed by Dustin Poirier’s strength. While he made it to the final bell in their interim lightweight title bout at UFC 236, Poirier secured a unanimous decision victory. And now ‘Blessed’ is gearing up to face Justin Gaethje, perhaps the hardest-hitting fighter in the 155-pound division, at UFC 300 on April 13; which fans won’t really be surprised about considering Holloway’s resume. ‘Blessed’ staying true to the saying “anywhere, anytime” was even ready to take on the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov back in 2023 as a last moment replacement.

To make things more challenging for Holloway, ‘The Human Highlight’ is coming off a spectacular second-round knockout victory over Dustin Poirier at UFC 291 and is thus the clear favorite going into the bout. The duo will be fighting for Gaethje’s BMF belt, making it the third time Holloway is scheduled to fight for a title at lightweight, even as his first planned outing at 155 against Khabib Nurmagomedov fell through due to a very strange reason.

Reason behind Max Holloway pulling out of Khabib Nurmagomedov fight

No fight in the UFC is as cursed as Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov. ‘El Cucuy’ and ‘The Eagle’ were scheduled to fight five times, but their bout fell through every time, often due to freak accidents and injuries. The fourth time the duo were slated to face each other was at UFC 223 in 2018, but Ferguson pulled out due to a knee injury. The UFC then enlisted Max Holloway on short notice to replace the Mexican-American for the main card.

Holloway took the fight on six days’ notice and thus had to cut a lot of weight in a short span of time.  The New York Athletic Commission (NYSAC), responsible for sanctioning the fight, however, refused to clear Holloway to fight on medical grounds.

“With much regret, and after careful review, a joint decision was made between the state athletic commission and the UFC. We’ve deemed Mr. Holloway medically unfit to attend the scales (to weigh in). No further comments at this time. We apologize,” an NYSAC official would tell reporters at the weigh-ins.

In the end, ‘Ragin’ Al Iaquinta stepped in and faced Khabib Nurmagomedov and lost a unanimous decision to the champion. For his fight against Justin Gaethje, however, Holloway has had ample time to prepare and cut weight even as Khabib Nurmagomedov has trashed Holloway vs. Gaethje as a fight that “makes no sense” and derails two weight divisions.

‘The Eagle’ was not happy about the BMF bout at UFC 300

Khabib Nurmagomedov severely criticized the Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje bout recently. The former champion felt the latter should be fighting for the lightweight championship against Islam Makhachev, while Holloway should face newly-minted featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, instead of fighting each other at UFC 300.

‘The Eagle’ suggested that the winner of the UFC 300 lightweight title eliminator between Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan should then have faced the winner of Makhachev-Gaethje for the title next. He felt that Holloway’s UFC 300 booking left Topuria without a clear opponent in the immediate future, especially if Holloway lost.

“All respect for Max Holloway, but I don’t know, and I don’t understand why UFC make this fight. Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway: It makes no sense – (that’s) my opinion. My opinion, Holloway is supposed to fight with (Ilia) Topuria next, maybe September. Justin Gaethje is supposed to fight with Islam in May or June, and Tsarukyan vs. Oliveira, they fight in April. Whoever wins that (should be fighting) the winner of Islam vs. Justin Gaethje,” Nurmagomedov said. What do you think about Nurmagomedov’s comments about Gaethje-Holloway?

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