Nate Diaz to Face Tony Ferguson in New UFC 279 Main Event

A day after the official press conference for UFC 279 was called off for the first time in history due to a skirmish backstage involving four fighters and reportedly around 100 individuals, more chaos now ensues. Last-minute switches to the main event matchups were made as one of the UFC‘s brightest prospects, Khamzat Chimaev,  missed weight by a shocking 7.5 pounds, tipping in at 178.5 pounds for the middleweight bout.

This is the first time that Chimaev has missed weight in the UFC since his debut in 2020 and the nearly 10-pound weight difference, as well as his nonchalant attitude, has many in the community speculating that he may not have planned to make weight in the first place for his headliner against Nate Diaz. In lieu of the news, the UFC quickly set up whole new matchups, bumping Tony Ferguson up to the main event against Diaz, and setting Chimaev up against fellow rising star Kevin Holland in a 180-pound catchweight bout over five rounds. Holland’s original opponent Daniel Rodriguez will be paired against the fan-favorite welterweight Li Jingliang.

UFC 279 is set for September 10 with the main card going live at 10 p.m. ET.

The main event we didn’t know we needed 👏@NateDiaz209 vs @TonyFergusonXT is closing tomorrow’s show!

[ #UFC279 | Tomorrow | 10pmET | Live on ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/8uiusbcc5r ] pic.twitter.com/I3CApiUFE3

— UFC (@ufc) September 9, 2022

Khamzat Chimaev and Kevin Holland face off ahead of their newly scheduled co-main event.#UFC279 | Saturday | BT Sport 1 pic.twitter.com/Ghylp95lBs

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) September 9, 2022

Tony Ferguson offered Nate Diaz a mint during the backstage brawl 😂
🎥:ESPN pic.twitter.com/ILykASzFHt

— MMA mania (@mmamania) September 10, 2022

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