Max Holloway will not face Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223
Last Updated: 06/04/18 3:55pm
Max Holloway has been ruled out of his title fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov, which was to be the highlight of a troubled UFC 223.
Holloway has been declared medically unfit to fight and was not allowed to weigh in for the card, which has already suffered a series of cancellations.
He had been scheduled to fight Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title and, if victorious, would have been only the second fighter, behind Conor McGregor, to hold titles in two divisions at the same time.
Anthony Pettis is set to step in for Holloway after his bout against Michael Chiesa was called off because of the facial injuries Chiesa suffered during McGregor's alleged attack on a bus taking fighters away from Brooklyn's Barclays Center on Thursday.
Ray Borg's clash with Brandon Moreno was also removed from the bill because of his injuries in the same incident, as was Artem Lobov's bout against Alex Caceres.
Lobov, who is one of McGregor's training partners, was also involved in Thursday's fracas, which has since seen the Irishman charged with three counts of assault.
Holloway himself had stepped in at short notice to face Nurmagomedov after Tony Ferguson was forced to withdraw, also because of injury.
His most recent fight last December saw him defend his featherweight title against Jose Aldo, who he had previously beaten in June to claim the belt outright.
Holloway had been due to defend that belt in March against Frankie Edgar but had to pull out because of injury.
