UFC 223 News: UFC President Dana White Reveals Why Conor McGregor Was Not Selected as Replacement Fighter in Main Event
UFC 223 main event will now feature lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov facing off against Featherweight Champion Max Holloway
When news broke over the weekend that interim UFC Lightweight Champion Tony Ferguson could not compete against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 due to an injury, it didn't take long for MMA fans to start thinking about current division king Conor McGregor stepping in to save the main event.
McGregor has yet to defend the title he won back in November of 2016, and given that Nurmagomedov is widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, a bout between the two made plenty of sense.
Additionally, Nurmagomedov has called McGregor out a few times over the past few months, so there seems to be a bit of real animosity between the two which could work to make a possible fight more interesting.
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Unfortunately for fans who want to see McGregor and Nurmagomedov fight, they will need to remain patient because the decision-makers at the UFC have opted to go with UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway to serve as Ferguson's replacement.
So why did the UFC decide not to schedule a fight between McGregor and Nurmagomedov for this weekend's "UFC 223" event?
UFC president commented on that very topic during a recent interview with ESPN's Brett Okamoto.
According to White, they opted not to slot McGregor into that main event due in part to the challenge of cutting weight. White noted that he doesn't think McGregor could make weight with less than a week to go before fight night.
White offered another reason for why McGregor was not tabbed as the replacement fighter.
White stated that he does not want McGregor to serve as a late replacement fighter. He added that he wants the "right amount of time" to promote a fight involving McGregor.
It's hard to blame White for thinking that way, especially since he is likely well aware of just how important McGregor is to the promotion.
With former megastars like Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar currently in the WWE and past long-time champions like Georges St. Pierre and Jon Jones having unclear futures in the sport, McGregor is more important than ever to the UFC.
It may not even be the possibility that McGregor may lose that has caused the UFC not to book him for UFC 223, as they may just want to make sure that they can maximize earnings from a fight involving him and that will obviously be harder to pull off on such short notice.
The good news here for fans is that White thinks McGregor could make his return to the Octagon in September.
On top of that, Holloway vs. Nurmagomedov is still a supremely intriguing fight and the other fights on the card have the potential to be memorable encounters as well. The Rose Namajunas-Joanna Jedrzejczyk co-main event for the UFC Women's Strawweight title, in particular, has "Fight of the Year" potential.
This weekend's UFC 223 event is not going to feature McGregor's long-awaited return to the Octagon, but it is still going to be a can't miss spectacle for MMA fans all over the world.
