Per Dana White, the new UFC 279 main card will consist of Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson and Chimaev vs. Kevin Holland and Lee Jingliang vs. Daniel Rodriguez.
In a wild series of events, the original main event of UFC 279 was canceled after Khamzat Chimaev weighed 7.5 pounds over the welterweight limit, leaving UFC legends Nate Diaz and Tony Ferguson to face each other in a fan-favorite match for the new main game event.
The drama began on Thursday evening before the start of the press conference. There was a backstage brawl between Camp Shemayev, Kevin Holland and Diaz, which led to the press conference being called off.
At 6 p.m. ET on Friday, Dana White announced via SportsCenter that UFC 279 matches will be shifted due to Chimayev’s failure to cut weight.
“The doctor told him he shouldn’t,” White said. “So we jumped into this, this morning, and the new card we have now is Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson, and Shemaev will face Kevin Holland, and Leitch Rodriguez will fight.”
The UFC released a statement following White’s appearance that can be read in full below:
On the recommendation of the UFC medical team, Khamzat advised Chimaev to stop losing weight due to weight management issues. Chimaev would move into a 180-pound weight bout and face Kevin Holland in the new five-round joint main event.
The new main event will feature two UFC favorites as Nate Diaz face Tony Ferguson in a five-round welterweight bout.
For the third fight on the main card, Li Jingliang will now face Daniel Rodriguez at 180 lbs. bout weight.
The women’s bantamweight bout will now be contested between Erin Aldana and Maisie Keason at the 140lb weight division.
Hakim Daoudo weighed in at featherweight 149.5 pounds and will be fined 30% of his wallet in his match against Julian Erosa.
Heavyweight Chris Barnett weighed 267.5 pounds and will be fined 20% of his wallet in his match against Jake Collier.
Due to a change in the main event, refunds will be available at points of sale.
FanSided is on the site and will provide you with any updates as they become available.
UFC 279: Nate Diaz vs. Follow up with FanSided MMA, located on the site, for all the news and highlights.
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