NEW YORK -- Khabib Nurmagomedov and Al Iaquinta faced each other, and the media, on Friday evening at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, just a couple of hours after Conor McGregor was arraigned at a nearby courthouse.
Nurmagomedov (25-0) will fight Iaquinta (13-3-1) in the new, very hastily arranged UFC 223 main event for the undisputed lightweight title on Saturday, after Nurmagomedov's previously scheduled opponent, Max Holloway, was declared medically unfit to fight on Friday morning. The initially scheduled opponent, Tony Ferguson, bowed out last weekend due to a knee injury.
Saturday's winner claims the title, which McGregor was stripped of earlier this week.
Earlier Friday, when the bout was first announced, the UFC said only Nurmagomedov would be eligible for the title, since Iaquinta weighed in at 155.2 pounds -- which is technically .2 pounds over championship weight.
But at the news conference, UFC president Dana White said that while the New York State Athletic Commission does not consider this a title fight, the promotion does.
It's a big break for Iaquinta, a Long Island native, who was originally supposed to fight on the undercard.
"This is what it's all about," Iaquinta said. "You get the opportunity, you seize the moment."
Nurmagomedov said he's taken things in stride as his opponent has changed.
"This week they asked me to fight with five different guys," Nurmagomedov said. "I said if you can bring King Kong and he can make 155 [pounds], it's good."
White said multiple fighters were considered for the main event slot after Holloway was ruled out, also mentioning Anthony Pettis and Paul Felder.
"If you look at where Al is ranked, and his last five fights, it made the most sense," White said.
Iaquinta has won his past five fights, four of them by knockout, but he hasn't fought in nearly a year.
Nurmagomedov won his previous fight, against Edson Barboza, via unanimous decision on Dec. 30.
Regarding McGregor and his future with the UFC, White said he hadn't spoken to the fighter since Thursday, and preferred to focus on the fight card on Saturday. McGregor faces assault and criminal mischief charges after his outburst Thursday at the Barclays Center. He was released from police custody Friday after posting $50,000 bail.
"Next week I'm gonna go home and figure out how this whole [McGregor] thing plays out," White said.
Information from ESPN's Brett Okamoto was used in this report.