One day before the scheduled pay-per-view event, the top three fights on the UFC 279 card have been completely rearranged, according to UFC president Dana White in a live Instagram video.
Tony Ferguson will now compete against Nate Diaz in the Saturday show’s main event. Khamzat Chimaev, Diaz’s original challenger, failed to make weight on Friday morning and weighed in at 178.5 pounds when there was a limit of 171 pounds. It makes sense that Diaz decided against fighting such a large opponent.
Chimaev’s weight error set off a domino effect. The UFC negotiated these changes with each of the six camps throughout the entire morning and afternoon. It is unheard of for changes to occur at this level so close to a UFC event.
As with Diaz, Ferguson was expected to face Li Jingliang in the co-main event on Saturday. For that fight, Ferguson weighed 170.5 pounds.
Ferguson vs. Diaz will feature five rounds. Ferguson vs. Li would only last three rounds, whereas Chimaev and Diaz were supposed to fight in five rounds. Ferguson and Diaz agreed to a five-round fight.
Chimaev will now compete against Kevin Holland in the UFC 279 co-main event. Daniel Rodriguez was supposed to be Holland’s opponent in their 180-pound catchweight matchup. Holland weighed in at 179.5 pounds on Friday morning. A five-round fight will also feature Holland and Chimaev.
Rodriguez will now face Li, who weighed 170.5 pounds on Friday.
Rodriguez weighed 179 pounds, so there will be a significant weight difference.
According to Caesars Sportsbook, Chimaev, 28, one of the UFC’s biggest rising stars, was a -1000 favorite to defeat Diaz. In essence, the UFC booked this fight to give Chimaev a fight with Diaz, a big name, in which he was expected to prevail. Diaz, who is currently in his last fight under his UFC contract, has stated that this will be his final UFC contest, at least temporarily.
Chimaev has experienced an odd week. On Wednesday at the UFC Performance Institute, he got into a verbal altercation with middleweight Paulo Costa. On Thursday, prior to the UFC 279 press conference, Chimaev engaged in combat with Holland, the opponent he is currently facing.
During their encounter behind the scenes, Chimaev kicked Holland. In the end, the press conference was postponed.
Chimaev shrugged his shoulders and displayed no remorse for the enormous miss when he checked his weight on Friday morning. Later, he joked about losing weight in a Twitter meme.
