Khamzat Chimaev missed weight by more than seven pounds on Friday, putting his welterweight bout with Nate Diaz in serious jeopardy ahead of UFC 279 on ...
Holland was 179.5 pounds and Rodriguez was 179 for their 180-pound catchweight bout. The news conference was ultimately canceled. Chimaev kicked Holland during the fight. Chimaev, 28, is one of the UFC's biggest rising stars and was a -1000 favorite, per Caesars Sportsbook. It's unclear what would happen contractually if Diaz, 37, does not fight Saturday. Diaz was 171 pounds.
The star welterweight's status for his upcoming clash with Nate Diaz is jeopardy heading into Saturday night.
Barring a change in Chimaev’s status, UFC is reportedly already preparing a backup plan and “working to finalize it, though it involves multiple parties agreeing to a change in circumstances,” The undefeated welterweight stepped on the scale for official weigh-ins Friday and weighed in at 178.5 pounds, 8.5 pounds over the contracted weight of 170 pounds. The main event for Saturday’s UFC 279 is in jeopardy after Khamzat Chimaev failed to make weight ahead of his anticipated clash with Nate Diaz.
Khamzat Chimaev missing weight by 7.5 pounds on Friday caused a complete overhaul to Saturday's lineup.
Ironically, Diaz recently claimed that [UFC rejected his request for a fight](https://www.cbssports.com/mma/news/nate-diaz-pushes-ufc-dana-white-for-his-release-from-the-promotion-in-social-media-post/) against Ferguson. [feeding Diaz to Chimaev](https://www.cbssports.com/mma/news/nate-diaz-i-didnt-call-for-and-still-dont-want-to-fight-khamzat-chimaev-at-ufc-279/) on the veteran's way out of the promotion. Holland was originally scheduled for a 180-pound catchweight and was already in the ballpark of Chimaev's weight. Chimaev and Holland had repeatedly traded barbs in the months leading up to Saturday's event. Ferguson was originally scheduled to fight Li Jingliang, which has caused massive changes to the main card, set to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. "It's not by coincidence that we stack guys the same weight on the same card in case anything goes wrong, but yeah, it worked out.
For the third fight on the main card, Li Jingliang will now face Daniel Rodriguez in a 180-lb. catchweight bout. The women's bantamweight bout between Irene ...
[UFC 279: Diaz vs Ferguson](/event/ufc-279), Live From T-Mobile Arena In Las Vegas, Nevada. [Get Your Tickets Here](https://www.axs.com/events/442080/ufc-279-chimaev-vs-diaz-tickets?skin=tmobile) Ferguson](https://plus.espn.com/ufc/ppv?ex_cid=DSS-OFF-UFC-INARTICLE-EN) will take place on Saturday, September 10th at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
LAS VEGAS : Swedish fighter Khamzat Chimaev missed the weight for Saturday's main event showdown with American Nate Diaz at UFC 279, throwing the card into ...
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Chimaev will fight rival Kevin Holland instead, while Holland's scheduled opponent will fight Ferguson's scheduled opponent.
Most prominently, the bantamweight bout between Macy Chiasson and Irene Aldana is now a 140-pound catchweight bout. Ferguson was scheduled to face Li Jingliang in the penultimate bout of UFC 279. The 37-year-old Diaz was a major betting underdog against Chimaev, one of the world’s top welterweights, but his fight with Ferguson is expected to be much more competitive.