Max Holloway’s Easter Sunday descended into chaos around 3:30 p.m. ET.
That’s around the time Holloway’s manager, Brian Butler-Au, received the phone call that could fast become a turning point in Holloway’s career. The UFC’s nightmare scenario had happened: A freak injury to Tony Ferguson derailed UFC 223’s marquee matchup against Khabib Nurmagomedov for the fourth time in as many tries, and UFC matchmakers wanted to know if Holloway — the promotion’s reigning featherweight champion — had interest in moving up in weight to accept the biggest challenge of his life on six days’ notice.