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If the days leading up to UFC 279 are anything to go by, combat fans could be in for the wildest fight card of the year.
First, the scheduled press conference was cancelled after Khamzat Chimaev and Kevin Holland’s parties got into a heated altercation that threatened to spill over.
Then, in another stunning turn of events, the scheduled main event between Chimaev and Nate Diaz was scrapped after the former missed weight by 7.5 pounds.
UFC president Dana White went on to confirm Diaz will now fight Tony Ferguson in the main event with Chimaev and Holland to settle their differences in the new co-main event.
Watch UFC 279: Chimaev v Diaz LIVE on Main Event available on Kayo & Foxtel, Sunday 11 September from 12pm AEST. ORDER NOW >
Although Diaz claimed on Saturday that the undefeated Chimaev had intentionally missed weight in an attempt to dodge him.
“Tony’s been around a long time, we should have fought a long time ago,” Diaz said.
“Khabib [Nurmagomedov]’s b****a** was afraid of him just like this [Chimaev] b****a** motherf***** was afraid of me yesterday. We punked his b****a** in the back here and now he doesn’t make weight.”
Li Jingliang, who was scheduled to fight Ferguson, will now face Daniel Rodriguez.
“It’s been a hell of a night and a hell of a morning,” White said in an interview with ESPN. “It’s not by coincidence that we stack guys the same weight on the same card in case anything goes wrong, but yeah, it worked out.
“Obviously, when something like this happens, you got guys that trained for another guy for a long time. Getting these guys to agree to different fights can be a little tough sometimes, but we got ‘em all done, they’re locked in.”
The UFC had initially come under scrutiny for locking in the Diaz-Chimaev fight, with Dan Hardy admitting he felt “uncomfortable” thinking about how the mismatch may go down.
“It feels like we’re getting to the point where someone should start thinking about pressing charges,” Hardy told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour at the time.
“It doesn’t feel like a fair fight. It feels like a very, very cruel thing to do to someone that is a legitimate legend. Because they’ve spoken out against the organisation, they’re going to get executed live on TV.
“That’s kind of how it feels, and it makes me feel uncomfortable to think that’s the way it’s going to go down.”
“I think it’s going to be uncomfortable to watch, and I think it’s going to leave the UFC in a very, very bad light.”
Chimaev had been talking about the fight being a “funeral” for Diaz but will now look to put an end to his rivalry with Holland instead.
MAIN CARD
Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kevin Holland
Li Jingliang vs. Daniel Rodriguez
Irene Aldana vs. Macy Chiasson
Johnny Walker vs. Ion Cutelaba
PRELIMS
Hakeem Dawodu vs. Julian Erosa
Jailton Almeida vs. Anton Turkalj
Denis Tiuliulin vs. Jamie Pickett
Jake Collier vs. Chris Barnett
EARLY PRELIMS
Norma Dumont vs. Danyelle Wolf
Chad Anheliger vs. Alateng Heili
Melissa Martinez vs. Elise Reed
Darian Weeks vs. Yohan Lainesse
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