Almost five years after their scheduled UFC title fight was cancelled, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Max Holloway will meet in a unique boxing match.
Retired champion Nurmagomedov and top UFC featherweight Holloway will fight on Saturday night in a boxing event that will take place in the metaverse.
The metaverse is a shared virtual-reality environment that people access via the internet, so Nurmagomedov and Holloway will not be stepping in a physical ring but instead a virtual one.
Nurmagomedov had teased a fight in the metaverse earlier this month when he announced his partnership with the gaming platform Legion Farm.
And Holloway confirmed he would be facing Nurmagomedov in the first-ever fight in the metaverse.
"On February 12, Legion Farm, a place where gamers meet and play with PRO players, will be hosting an epic event," Holloway's post read.
"In Mozilla Hubs Metaverse with the First Metaverse Fight in the history of the Earth between Khabib Nurmagomedov and me! And you are invited to witness it."
"Join the event personally right in the metaverse. You’ll get a chance to participate in a VR boxing match, speak face-to-face and take pictures with me and other special guests."
Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier and top lightweight contender Islam Makhachev will also be present for the event in the metaverse.
The fight will take place at 8pm UK time on Saturday night and viewers will need to subscribe to Legion Farm standart for $1 to watch it.
Nurmagomedov was booked to fight Holloway at UFC 223 in 2018 after his original opponent Tony Ferguson withdrew, marking the fourth time the pairing was cancelled.
But Holloway - who was the featherweight champion at the time - was deemed medically unfit to compete on the day of the weigh-ins and was removed from the event.
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Nurmagomedov would instead face Al Iaquinta on the card, winning the vacant lightweight title by outpointing the American over five rounds.
'The Eagle' defended his belt against Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje before vacating the title and retiring from fighting last year.
Holloway did get his chance to compete for a lightweight belt a year after his fight with Nurmagmedov fell through, losing out on the interim title to Poirier at UFC 236.
'Blessed' has since lost his featherweight belt and failed twice in his efforts to win it back against Alex Volkanovksi.
The pair were scheduled to meet in a trilogy fight at UFC 273, but Holloway withdrew a day after the fight was announced due to injury.
