Dana White: UFC Will Consider Al Iaquinta Champion If He Wins

The New York State Athletic Commission may not consider Al Iaquinta a champion if he beats Khabib Nurmagomedov tonight but the UFC will. At the UFC 223 press conference Friday night, White told media a championship belt is on the line for both fighters…

The New York State Athletic Commission may not consider Al Iaquinta a champion if he beats Khabib Nurmagomedov tonight but the UFC will. At the UFC 223 press conference Friday night, White told media a championship belt is on the line for both fighters despite what the NYSAC has ruled. “The title is on the […]

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UFC 223 Full Fight Card, Start Time & How To Watch

Tonight (Sat. April 7, 2018) the UFC is back in Brooklyn for a card that has been riddled with bad luck, injuries, and controversy for the past several days. Originally the UFC lightweight title was scheduled to be on the line between The Eagle and longtime rival Tony Ferguson. For the fourth-time ever, however, the […]

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Tonight (Sat. April 7, 2018) the UFC is back in Brooklyn for a card that has been riddled with bad luck, injuries, and controversy for the past several days.

Originally the UFC lightweight title was scheduled to be on the line between The Eagle and longtime rival Tony Ferguson. For the fourth-time ever, however, the fight fell through due to a freak accident that forced Ferguson off the card.

Nurmagomedov was then scheduled to face featherweight champion Max Holloway for the 155-pound belt. All seemed to be going well before the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) decided at weigh-ins that Holloway didn’t look fit to compete.

After hours of scrambling, it was determined that Al Iaquinta would step in and face Nurmagomedov for the lightweight throne. Also on the card is the rematch between UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas and Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

In addition to this, thanks to Conor McGregor’s assault on the UFC fighter’s bus earlier this week, two fights have been called off due to injuries suffered from broken glass. Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg were both pulled from their respective bouts.

With all that being said, you can check out the full fight card, start time, and information on how to watch UFC 223 here below:

Main Card (PPV, 10 P.M. ET):

Lightweight: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Al Iaquinta

Women’s strawweight: Rose Namajunas vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Featherweight: Calvin Kattar vs. Renato Moicano

Featherweight: Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Kyle Bochniak

Lightweight: Joe Lauzon vs. Chris Gruetzemacher

 

UFC 223 Preliminary Card (FS1, 8 P.M. ET):

Women’s strawweight: Felice Herrig vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz

Lightweight: Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Evan Dunham

Women’s flyweight: Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Bec Rawlings

Light heavyweight: Devin Clark vs. Michael Rodriguez

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Betting Odds For UFC 223: Top Fighter Favored Big

UFC 223 is here, and it goes down tonight (Saturday, April 7, 2018) from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The main card will air on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET Al Iaquinta vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov in a lightweight title […]

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UFC 223 is here, and it goes down tonight (Saturday, April 7, 2018) from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The main card will air on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET

Al Iaquinta vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov in a lightweight title fight will serve as the main event while a rematch between Rose Namajunas and Joanna Jedrzejczyk female strawweight bout will serve as the co-main event.

Rounding out the five bout main card is Renato Moicano vs. Calvin Kattar in a featherweight bout, Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Kyle Bochniak in a featherweight bout, and Joe Lauzon vs. Chris Gruetzemacher in a lightweight bout.

According to oddsmakers, Nurmagomedov is a -525 favorite over Iaquinta, who is a +415 underdog. Other odds for the main card include Namajunas being a +105 underdog against Jedrzejczyk, who is a -115 favorite.

Here are the full betting odds:

MAIN CARD (PPV/10 p.m. ET)

Khabib Nurmagomedov (-525) vs. Al Iaquinta (+415)

Joanna Jedrzejczyk (-115) vs. Rose Namajunas (+105)

Calvin Kattar (-135) vs. Renato Moicano (+115)

Zabit Magomedsharipov (-800) vs. Kyle Bochniak (+550)

Joe Lauzon (-165) vs. Chris Gruetzemacher (+145)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1/8 p.m. ET)

Karolina Kowalkiewicz (-185) vs. Felice Herrig (+160)

Evan Dunham (-140) vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier (+120)

Ashlee Evans-Smith (-190) vs. Bec Rawlings (+165)

Devin Clark (-115) vs. Mike Rodriguez (-105)

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Khabib Issues Warning Message To Conor McGregor

The UFC is still digesting the fallout of by far their craziest week ever, one that started by the last-minute knee injury to Tony Ferguson, who was forced out of his fourth scheduled fight with longtime rival Khabib Nurmagomedov at tomorrow’s UFC 223. But that was just the tip of the iceberg when it came […]

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The UFC is still digesting the fallout of by far their craziest week ever, one that started by the last-minute knee injury to Tony Ferguson, who was forced out of his fourth scheduled fight with longtime rival Khabib Nurmagomedov at tomorrow’s UFC 223.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to craziness for this week.

Yes, lightweight champion Conor McGregor went off in an over-the-top, illegal tirade where he threw a metal dolly and guardrail at a bus containing Nurmagomedov following UFC 223 media day yesterday, for which he eventually turned himself in on assault charges and was bailed out and approved to go back to Ireland.

Yet it didn’t stop there, as UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway, the man tabbed to replace Ferguson, was ruled out of the UFC 223 main event when NY doctors deemed him unfit to continue cutting weight for the fight. So began a twisting, turning chain of events involving three top lightweights that ultimately resulted in an impromptu title fight between Nurmagomedov and Al Iaquinta, a fight where Dana White says ‘Ragin’ Al’ can win the title but the commission says he can’t.

It’s all compiled upon itself to result in the most hectic two days the sport of MMA has ever seen, and perhaps no one was affected more than the No. 2 Khabib, who was tasked with five potential opponents this week and the subject of McGregor’s unnecessary outburst of danger. ‘The Eagle’ rapidly issued a response to those who said he was “scared” of McGregor yesterday, and during today’s (Fri., April 6, 2018) UFC 25th-Anniversary Press Conference, Khabib reiterated that McGregor could give him a location to come find him:

“If you wanna find me, please, just send me location. Send me location. Of course, I am UFC fighter, lotta people follow me, I have to be perfect for example, but nobody perfect. when somebody like you, UFC fighter, talk about you bad, or he try to go bully with him, one hundred percent I’m gonna give him back.”

Asked exactly what message he had for ‘The Notorious,’ the wrestling technician said he hoped McGregor took care of his business so they could settle their smoldering beef once and for all – whether it was inside the cage or out of it:

“To be honest, I hope he’s gonna he’s gonna fix his problem and we gonna fix between me and him problem – inside the cage or outside the cage, it doesn’t matter – we have to fix this.”

Following the events that transpired this week, there’s little doubt that a McGregor vs. Khabib lightweight bout would be the most anticipated fight this year, with the possibility of being one of the biggest UFC fighters ever staged.

The rivalry appears to be a real one after Khabib cornered McGregor’s training partner and teammate Artem Lobov in a hotel earlier this week, and the rest is history after ‘The Notorious’ did what he did in Brooklyn.

He has to sort out his legal standing, and Khabib, of course, has to get past Iaquinta at UFC 223 tomorrow night, but if the stars do align, McGregor’s insane antics may actually create a clear path to the biggest fight in the octagon in quite a few years.

If it does, ‘The Eagle’ insists he’s ready to settle the score.

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Dana White Confirms Al Iaquinta Can Also Win Lightweight Title At UFC 223

Earlier today, the main event for tomorrow’s (Sat., April 7, 2018) UFC 223 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, was thrown into an outright mess when featherweight champion Max Holloway was forced out of his short-notice lightweight title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov. The UFC worked through many twists and turns to find a replacement […]

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Earlier today, the main event for tomorrow’s (Sat., April 7, 2018) UFC 223 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, was thrown into an outright mess when featherweight champion Max Holloway was forced out of his short-notice lightweight title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The UFC worked through many twists and turns to find a replacement for “Blessed,” and after much consideration, No. 11-ranked ‘Ragin” Al Iaquinta was chosen as “The Eagle’s” unlikely rival.

The catch was, however, that he could not win the title considering he had weighed in for his scheduled fight with Paul Felder at 155.2 pounds – 0.2 over the title bout limit – with his underwear on because he thought he had to be under 156 for a non-title fight.

Only Khabib could win the belt, but UFC President Dana White refuted that notion at the outset of today’s UFC 25th-Anniversary Presser, revealing that Iaquinta made weight when the commission weighed his underwear:

“The problem with Al was, he was 155.2, which isn’t fight, that was with his underwear on. The commission literally weighed his underwear, and they were .2, so he made weight.”

Pressed if that meant “Ragin’ Al” could also win the title, White said he could – even if it wasn’t necessarily sanctioned by the commission – because if he beat the undefeated Nurmagomedov, everyone would know he was the one and only champion:

“It is on the line, so the title is on the line. As far as the commission goes, Khabib is the one who is eligible for the title, but obviously, if “Ragin Al” wins this fight, he’s the champ. If you beat the man, you are the man, so.

“We as fans, and as fight fans, and as the people, know who the champ is if you win the fight. I mean if you win the fight, you’re the champ. To be the man, you beat the man, and if you beat the man, it’s hard to deny that he’s not the champion, so all technicalities, we will figure out after the fight.”

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UFC 223 Ceremonial Weigh-In Video Live Now

After a dramatic soap opera of twists and turns, tomorrow night’s (Sat., April 7, 2018) UFC 223 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, finally got a new main event when Al Iaquinta vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov was finalized this afternoon after featherweight champion Max Holloway was forced off the event by cutting too much weight. […]

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After a dramatic soap opera of twists and turns, tomorrow night’s (Sat., April 7, 2018) UFC 223 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, finally got a new main event when Al Iaquinta vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov was finalized this afternoon after featherweight champion Max Holloway was forced off the event by cutting too much weight.

It came on the heels of Conor McGregor’s New York City bus attack and his subsequent arrest and release on assault charges, marking without a doubt the most insane two days in UFC history.

The event will go on, however, and the fighters will square off at the ceremonial weigh-in streaming live at 6 p.m EST here:

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