UFC 223 has fallen apart more quickly than arguably any other event in mixed martial arts history, and Dana White can thank Conor McGregor for most of that.
McGregor and his entourage left multiple fighters injured when they ruthlessly attacked a bus outside the Barclays Center on Thursday. Michael Chiesa suffered multiple cuts on his face as a result of glass being shattered, and Ray Borg got particles of glass in his eye. Because of the injuries, Chiesa’s UFC 223 fight against Anthony Pettis has been called off and Borg will be unable to face Brandon Moreno on the main card.
The attack by McGregor and company was preceded by Khabib Nurmagomedov confronting Artem Lobov, a member of McGregor’s team, at the fighters’ hotel earlier in the week. Lobov was immediately pulled from his prelim fight against Alex Caceres.
And as of Friday, the main event has also been changed. White announced that Max Holloway has been declared medically unfit to fight. Pettis is expected to face Khabib in the main event in Holloway’s place.
. @TeamKhabib my brother I want to keep going but they are stopping me. Sorry to your team and the fans. You don’t deserve this. This is number one. Shout outs to you and @Showtimepettis . Give the fans what they deserve
— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) April 6, 2018
Holloway was already standing in for Tony Ferguson, who had to pull out of the fight against Nurmagomedov after he suffered a knee injury on a UFC studio set.
What a disaster. McGregor is facing some serious charges in the wake of Thursday’s incident, and White has already said any talk of the mayhem being a promotional stunt is ridiculous. Given the way the UFC 223 card has fallen apart, it’s easy to see none of this was planned.
