It appears that Khabib Nurmogomedov and Tony Ferguson will never happen as Nurmogomedov was hospitalized Thursday evening and Nevada officials have called off the bout.
The fight, which was for the interim lightweight title and the right to face Conor McGregor, will not happen. Nurmogomedov was discharged per UFC officials however the fight will not go forward.
The scheduled interim lightweight championship bout between Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson at UFC 209 has been cancelled. pic.twitter.com/aFHxZH1Myx
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) March 3, 2017
Not only will this hurt the business-side from a PPV, attendance standpoint, but will hurt the handle at sportsbooks.
This fight had more than twice as much handle as main event. Going to be quite a few refunds for us on this one
— Matthew Holt (@MatthewHoltVP) March 3, 2017
Payout Perspective:
This is disappointing as this was the third time the two were to fight but it appears that this will never happen. We have to assume that weight-cutting issues was the need for Khabib to be hospitalized. Certainly, many UFC fans wanted to see this more than the title fight between Woodley and Thompson.
MMA needs to move to stricter weight cut guidelines like they do for some boxing matchups. Have weigh-ins leading up to the fight and the night of the fight to ensure that fighters aren’t cutting and rehydrating too much.
http://mmajunkie.com/2017/03/michael-johnson-being-considered-for-tony-ferguson-fight-after-nurmagomedov-withdrawal……pathetic and desperate….hHahahahahaha
Double whammy…1st dw wiling to put a fight with 1 day notice ,( risk health – weight cut 15 lbs!!!and (reputation) now 2nd rejected by ferguson(right of him) because of small money offered hahahaha what a cash strap promotion,desperate times
Ouch, what a fail. For many this was the true main event of the card and the only good match up the UFC had lined up so far this year.
Diego, agreed…..sometimes going to end up killing themselves with these unprofessional weight cuts