Report: Khabib to fight Pettis for lightweight belt after Holloway pulled
The UFC is trying to save Saturday's fight card.
After Max Holloway was ruled medically unfit to fight at UFC 223 on Saturday, the promotion quickly pivoted to Khabib Nurmagomedov versus Anthony Pettis as the third scheduled lightweight title fight for the event, UFC president Dana White told Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times.
However, Pettis was still required to weigh-in to make the fight official and came in at 155.2 pounds. He now has two hours to shed the excess weight.
155.2 for Pettis. He has two more hours to cut the .2 and make it a title fight. pic.twitter.com/ZwyWnP6Ah3
— Mark La Monica (@LaMonicaMark) April 6, 2018
Pettis was originally scheduled to fight Michael Chiesa on Saturday. Chiesa was taken off the card after suffering several cuts to the face after Conor McGregor and his entourage broke a window on a bus full of UFC fighters on Thursday.
Nurmagomedov was first booked to settle a score with Tony Ferguson for the Brooklyn event before Ferguson went down with a leg injury. Pettis is now in the midst of subbing in for Holloway.