UFC 279 gets new main event: Diaz vs. Ferguson
As if UFC 279 didn't have enough drama.
What started with a backstage clash among fighters and camps gave way one day later to a badly missed weight cut Friday morning and a significant reimagining of today's main card.
As a result, UFC 279 in Las Vegas as everyone knew it has been scrambled to suit six fighters' needs and requests.
The new card, as announced by UFC President Dana White on Friday afternoon, is the legendary Nate Diaz vs. Costa Mesa's Tony Ferguson in a welterweight main event, Khamzat Chimaev vs. Riverside native Kevin Holland a catchweight co-main event, and East L.A. native Daniel Rodriguez vs. Li Jingliang in a catchweight bout.
What it was: Chimaev vs. Diaz in the main event, Ferguson vs. Jingliang in the co-main event, and Holland vs. Rodriguez in a 180-pound catchweight fight due to the short notice of their matchup.
The drama began Thursday
when Chimaev and Holland scrapped backstage before a news conference, then Diaz and his team got into it with Chimaev. It was so heated, with water bottles flying back and forth, that White called off the news conference.
More chaos ensued Friday morning when Chimaev, after a long delay, stepped on the scale and flew right past the 171-pound weight limit. The final reading was 178.5 pounds, followed by a smile and some flexing from the undefeated
When: Where:
How to watch: Early prelims (3 p.m., ESPN+); prelims (5 p.m., ESPNews/ESPN+); main card (7 p.m., PPV via ESPN+)
Chechnyan native.
White said Friday on ESPN's “SportsCenter” that Chimaev had started to suffer cramps Thursday night and the doctor told him to stop cutting weight.
Diaz, in the last fight of his contract after an illustrious 15-year career in the UFC, and his team reportedly understandably balked and the UFC began to maneuver throughout the day. Some believed the Chimaev fight was a one-sided, take-it-or-leave-it dishonor bestowed upon Diaz before he likely stepped away from the organization.
What the UFC has crafted is arguably a better card.
“It literally could not have worked out any better,” White said on “SportsCenter.”
In what should be an entertaining
Today T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
scrap, Diaz, the 37-year-old highly respected, cannabis-friendly bad boy from Stockton, takes on another wildly popular veteran in the Ferguson, 38, a former interim lightweight champion.
Chimaev gets Holland, a verbose Texan with whom he has bickered on social media for several months, which prompted Thursday's backstage beef. Plus, their weights, with Holland weighing in at 179.5 pounds, match up well.
Rodriguez, who is known for taking short-notice fights, gets a new opponent on a day's notice, though he will have a significant weight advantage. Rodriguez came in at 179 to Jingliang's 170.5.
In the end, Diaz and Ferguson get a fan-favorite showdown that should have happened years ago — with Diaz getting a more favorable opponent than Chimaev, who for all his upside, could be in the UFC's doghouse.
Not to be overlooked: Money talks and fighters have the right to walk. Several UFC executives and understanding fighters saved the day, but no doubt some fighters will receive bigger paychecks for acquiescing to such dramatic shifting.