Yesterday evening, on April Fools of all days, the MMA world was thrown into turmoil as Tony Ferguson pulled out of his championship bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223. This caused huge confusion, with many people believing that this news was another April Fools joke, but this was no joke. This is now the 4th time that this matchup has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances, and the UFC president Dana White has now vowed to never make this matchup again.

UFC fans have been waiting in anticipation for this fight since August 2015 and now it seems like we will never get one of the most anticipated lightweight fights in UFC history. Although this news is very disheartening, we do have a great main event at UFC 223. UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway has stepped in to face Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight championship, but Holloway wasn’t the only fighter to put his name in the hat.

UFC #1 featherweight Brian Ortega has claimed that Dana White asked him if he would step in, and he said yes. At this point, Dana White was waiting for Max Holloway to confirm whether he would be able to compete or not, but Brian Ortega was ready to step in and face the fighter known as ‘The Eagle’.

For the record, Dana called me yesterday to see if I would step in against Khabib since Max hadn’t responded yet. I said yes. Eventually, Max replied and Dana gave him the fight. If all goes according to plan, I’ll get my turn – at both of them.

— Brian Ortega (@BrianTcity) April 2, 2018

The potential matchup between Brian Ortega and Khabib Nurmagomedov is a mouthwatering exchange, and it is one that may happen in the future. Ortega said the following about this potential matchup:

The UFC’s lightweight division is now up in the air, and due to Tony Ferguson’s injury, there are now two new contenders that have their eye on the UFC’s 155lb championship.