UPDATE: Al Iaquinta vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov has been made official.
ORIGINAL:
When all else fails, turn to “Raging Al.”
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has been dealt a bad hand. First, Tony Ferguson tore ligaments in his knee cancelling his bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223. Then, Conor McGregor goes on a rampage and shatters glass injuring two UFC 223 fighters and forcing them off the card.
On top of that, Max Holloway was deemed medically unfit to compete by the New York State Athletic Commission. This left the UFC scrambling for a replacement. Anthony Pettis was called upon, but there was reportedly an issue with pay. Then the promotion turned to Paul Felder, but the commission didn’t allow it because they felt he isn’t ranked high enough.
Enter Al Iaquinta?
Iaquinta is scheduled to take on Felder tomorrow night (April 7) inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. That could change if the UFC has its way. Sources told MMAJunkie.com that a bout between Iaquinta and Nurmagomedov is being targeted for UFC 223.
Iaquinta weighed in at 155.2 pounds. One would imagine that the New York State Athletic Commission won’t allow him to try to cut down to 155 this late. Surely, the bout would a non-title or the gold would only be on the line for “The Eagle.”
