One of the craziest days in the promotion’s history has resulted in an even better UFC 279 card.
The event taking place Saturday night in Las Vegas was originally supposed to be headlined by a welterweight bout between Khamzat Chimaev and Nate Diaz.
However, Chimaev’s big weight miss on Friday resulted in the main event getting called off.
Tony Ferguson, who was set to co-headline against Li Jingliang in a welterweight contest, will now face Diaz in the new headliner in a fight many believe to be better than the original main event.
Chimaev, who weighed in at 178.5 pounds, will now face Kevin Holland in the co-main event in a 180-pound catchweight bout. That contest will notably be five rounds.
Jingliang, meanwhile, will take on Holland’s original opponent in Daniel Rodriguez despite the latter weighing nearly 10 pounds heavier than him.
UFC 279 Gets Upgrade
It was a crazy two days, especially after the events of Thursday’s pre-fight press conference.
Reshuffling the fights and getting the fighters to agree was also a struggle, especially with the financials involved and the number of rounds.
However, it all worked out in the end as fans, for the most part, are much happier with this new card.
Diaz vs. Ferguson is a fight both fighters have wanted for a while as well as being a dream matchup for combat sports fans.
EL CUCUY @TonyFergusonXT is amped up ahead of tomorrow’s action 💥
⚖️ #UFC279 Ceremonial Weigh-Ins go down at the top of the hour!
[ Tune in LIVE to watch on https://t.co/EjpH0uRakZ ] pic.twitter.com/T7ldkoJxTx
— UFC (@ufc) September 9, 2022
Chimaev, meanwhile, will be fighting a much more suitable opponent in Holland after the UFC received plenty of criticism for booking him against Diaz in the first place.
The new lineup for UFC 279 includes:
- Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson
- Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kevin Holland
- Daniel Rodriguez vs. Li Jingliang
- Irene Aldana vs. Macy Chiasson
- Ion Cutelaba vs. Johnny Walker
- Hakeem Dawodu vs. Julian Erosa
- Jailton Almeida vs. Anton Turkalj
- Jamie Pickett vs. Denis Tiuliulin
- Chris Barnett vs. Jake Collier
- Norma Dumont vs. Danyelle Wolf
- Heili Alateng vs. Chad Anheliger
- Melissa Martinez vs. Elise Reed
- Yohan Lainesse vs. Darian Weeks
Are you happy with the new UFC 279 card?
