Picture Credit: Twitter
After a historic fight at Paris last week, Ultimate Fighting Championship is back in action with two incredibly super star fighters up against each other. As Khamzat Chimaev missed the weight by 7.5 pounds on Friday morning, UFC has reshuffled the entire main draw as Nate Diaz will now be up against fellow UFC legend Tony Ferguson.
Meanwhile, Chimaev is now fighting Kevin Holland at a 179-pound catchweight in the co-main event. This fight will grab a lot of headlines as both have been circling each other for months. The pair has already created a lot of noise ahead of the UFC 279 as both featured in a major scuffle backstage while UFC CEO Dana White was about to address the media, but due to reported tussle between both White had to cancel the pre-event presser.
The pair had been arguing back and forth before things got physical. Reportedly, members of Diaz's entourage also got involved, with bottles being thrown. In another major shuffle, Li Jingliang, who was initially scheduled to fight Tony Ferguson will now face off Holland's old opponent Daniel Rodriguez. The UFC experts have hinted that Li Jingliang has emerged as a biggest looser as he went from prestige co-main event with a legend in Tony Ferguson to a really tough fight with a bigger man in Daniel Rodriguez. Let’s look at all the available information regarding highly anticipated UFC 279.
Event: UFC 279
Location: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
Date: September 10 (Saturday)
Main Card
Welterweight Bout: Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson
Catchweight (180 lb) Bout: Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kevin Holland
Catchweight (180 lb) Bout: Li Jingliang vs. Daniel Rodriguez
Women's Catchweight (140 lb) Bout:
Irene Aldana vs. Macy Chiasson
Light Heavyweight Bout: Johnny Walker vs. Ion Cutelaba
Preliminary Card
Featherweight Bout: Hakeem Dawodu vs. Julian Erosa
Catchweight (220 lb) Bout: Jailton Almeida vs. Anton Turkalj
Middleweight Bout: Denis Tiuliulin vs. Jamie Pickett
Heavyweight Bout: Jake Collier vs. Chris Barnett
Early Preliminary Card
Women's Featherweight Bout: Norma Dumont vs. Danyelle Wolf
Bantamweight Bout: Chad Anheliger vs. Alateng Heili
Women's Strawweight Bout: Melissa Martinez vs. Elise Reed
Welterweight Bout: Darian Weeks vs. Yohan Lainesse