Ortega: Dana White Offered Me Khabib At UFC 223

Reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight champion, Max Holloway, is fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov at the upcoming UFC 223 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Sat., April 7, 2018 inside Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

That’s because interim titleholder Tony Ferguson was injured and forced to withdraw.

In case Holloway was unable to answer the call due to his recent leg injury, the promotion already had featherweight No. 1 contender Brian Ortega on standby, the second time “T-City” was called up to save an event.

“For the record, Dana called me yesterday to see if I would step in against Khabib since Max hadn’t responded yet,” Ortega wrote on Twitter. “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.”

Ortega cemented his spot as 145-pound title contender by knocking out former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar at UFC 222 last month in Las Vegas, and already revealed plans to jump up to lightweight when he finished his featherweight business.

Interestingly enough, “T-City” can kill two birds with one stone if Holloway is able to clip “The Eagle’s” wings and capture the crown, but the oddsmakers charged with the betting lines for UFC 223 certainly don’t like his chances.