In one of the craziest days in UFC history, the organization has been forced to completely rearrange the entire UFC 279 card to accommodate three new bouts on short notice.
In a sensational twist after yesterday’s backstage brawl at the UFC 279 press conference, headliner and undefeated star Khamzat Chimaev missed weight by 7.5 pounds for his main event with Nate Diaz.
Chimaev laughed and said “not so bad” as he tipped the scales at 178.5 pounds, having been forced by medical staff to stop cutting weight due to health concerns.
The main welterweight bout was subsequently scrapped. The UFC scrambled to rearrange the UFC 279 card at the last minute and ended up scheduling three new bouts, announcing them five hours after the weigh-ins.
Nate Diaz will fight his favorite Tony Ferguson for five rounds. Chimaev will fight Kevin Holland, after kicking him in the chest at yesterday’s press conference, in another five-round co-main event. Li Jingliang will now fight Daniel Rodriguez, who was 8.5 pounds heavier.
“It’s been a hell of a night and a hell of a morning here,” UFC boss Dana White began in announcing the new card.
But, he added, “I literally couldn’t have played any better,” given the incredible new late-night fights.
Watch UFC 279: Diaz v Ferguson LIVE in the main event available on Kayo & Foxtel, Sunday 11 September from 12pm AEST. ORDER NOW >
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White announced that Diaz will fight Tony Ferguson in a five-round welterweight main event, with the popular Ferguson set to make his 170-pound debut against Li Jingliang.
Jingliang and Ferguson successfully made 170.5 and 171 pounds, respectively, while Diaz came in at 171 pounds, just under the one-pound bonus.
The UFC had been in talks for Diaz to fight former lightweight champion and No. 2 lightweight contender Dustin Poirier, who tweeted a photo of himself on personal scales weighing 176.6 pounds, with reports indicating who had agreed to fly for a weight bout captured with late grandparents. .
But White got Tony Ferguson and Nate Diaz to agree to a deal to fight as a headliner.
The undefeated Chimaev (23-7) will fight Kevin Holland at a catchweight of 180 pounds, with Holland weighing in at 179.5 pounds for his scheduled bout against Daniel Rodriguez (already set at a catchweight of 180 pounds).
Chimaev and Holland have a lot of history, until Chimaev kicked the American in the chest yesterday. The fight will be a five-round co-main event.
Chimaev, as usual, was given an extra hour to try to make the weight, but he didn’t try given how far he was from the limit. White testified that Chimaev had suffered cramps due to his weight reduction and was ordered by a doctor not to continue cutting weight, resulting in his significant loss.
Rodriguez will now fight Li Jingliang (also at a catch weight of 180 pounds), though Rodriguez weighs more than eight pounds heavier at 179 pounds than Jingliang’s 170.5.
Two other fighters also missed weight, featherweight Hakeem Dawodu, who broke the limit at 149.5 pounds, and heavyweight Chris Barnett, who missed the limit at 267.5 pounds.
Barnett becomes the second UFC fighter to break the heavyweight limit, joining Justin Tafa.
“What a complete and utter disaster,” USA Today’s Mike Bohn tweeted after Chimaev’s missed cut. “Smiling and shrugging doesn’t help Khamzat’s cause here either.”
NEW UFC 279 CARD
Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson (Welterweight)
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kevin Holland (180lbs)
Li Jingliang vs. Daniel Rodriguez (180-pound weight)