Welcome to UFC 279, one of the more arduous events to persevere for Dana White.
Missing weight for a specific event or particular match-up can possibly destroy someone’s career as well as squandering the respect from fans because of that fighter’s absence and lackadaisical effort to maintain the required weight. Well, that pretty much summed up this whole event and the specific fighter that we will get to in a brief moment.
UFC 279 was initially to lead off with a bout between Chimaev vs Diaz, a final farewell to the legend that is Nate Diaz. The gangster, Nate, was a huge underdog going into this fight because Chimaev has dominated as the best young prospect in the fighting corporation.
Now, Khamzat Chimaev, who is known for not missing a fight, decided to miss the welterweight mass requirement and was unable to fill the fight against Nate. He topped out at 178.5, seven pounds over the limit preventing him from fighting and most likely the punishment of being kicked off of the card. But Dana White and Sean Shelby, the fight promoters, had other plans. They decided they would keep the fighters, but discombobulate the whole card and switch every fighter and their event time. Li Jingliang would now fight Daniel Rodriguez for a welterweight bout. Khamzat Chimaev would now fight Kevin Holland at catchweight (unrestricted weight class). Nate Diaz would now fight Tony Ferguson at welterweight.
Li Jingliang vs Daniel Rodriguez
Initially, Li Jingliang “The Leech”, was to fight Tony Ferguson in an anomalous catchweight bout but decided on late notice to step into the cage with fellow welterweight Daniel Rodriguez. Jingliang landed more significant strikes which is the key to winning in a judge’s eyes. The whole MMA world believed Li was robbed of his event.
Daniel defeated Li by a split decision, a mouth-dropping conclusion to a fantastic performance by the Chinese representative. Judges Mike Bell scored it 29-28 Rodriguez. Douglas Crosby scored it 29-28 Rodriguez. Ron McCarthy scored it 29-28 Li. Although no knockdowns occurred in the fight, Li committed the only takedown in the bout, certainly impressing the judges. Although this was a once-in-a-blue-moon catchweight match, the MMA city loved watching Li fight once again in the octagon.
Khamzat Chimaev vs Kevin Holland
This was the most anticipated fight in the last month.
These two men have been smack-talking each other ever since Khamzat joined the UFC. Now originally, Khamzat was supposed to be fighting Nate Diaz in the main event, but his failure to make weight removed the possibility of that bout taking place on this card. This also impacted Holland’s originally planned fight against Daniel Rodriguez.
Khamzat reigns as a huge prospect in the UFC, impressing the MMA world with an 11-0 record heading into this fight. The Chechen fighter (Khamzat) has intense grappling ability, prestige style wrestling, and impressive strength, enabling him to have earned the ranking as the number 3 welterweight contender in the world.
This fight would now be scheduled as a catchweight bout with Kevin Holland installed as the middleweight challenger. Holland is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, so, seemingly all UFC and MMA fans believed that he would be able to handle Chimaev on the ground, but that is not the cloth from which Chimaev is cut. The fight ended with about 2:47 seconds left in the first round, only taking place on the ground, with Holland struggling to get back up on his feet. Referee Herb Dean eventually stopped the fight due to a D’arce choke where the “Trailblazer” taps out permitting “Borz” his 12th straight win. Khamzat absorbed 0 strikes, as a result of the whole fight taking place on the canvas.
Nate Diaz vs Tony Ferguson
Finally, the main event consisted of two legends in the UFC. Nate Diaz, a former lightweight candidate, now jumping into the welterweight division. Coming off of his last fight in 2021 against the new welterweight champ Leon Edwards, having been defeated by a unanimous decision, the Stockton Gangster would finally enter back into the Octagon against none other than Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson.
Now, this was a fight that many UFC fans have fancied for as long as these two gangsters have been in the combat sport. Entering this fight, Tony was coming off of a loss to Michael Chandler at UFC 274. Sadly, his streak in the UFC has plummeted and the beloved fighter has been seen on a consecutive four-fight losing streak. The fight would end up going four rounds. A non-stop action-packed fight with respect floating around between 2 men in the cage. Shots were thrown dramatically throughout the event, but Nate Diaz would come out on top with a guillotine choke against Tony late in the fourth round when ref Marc Goddard ended the fight at precisely 2:09, which coincidentally is Nate’s area code in Stockton California. An absolute non-coincidental bout stoppage that finally granted Nate his first win since 2019. Nate will possibly finally lay his gloves to rest as this was “most likely” his last fight in the UFC.
Stay Tuned For Next Month On October 22 Where UFC 280 Lands In Abu Dhabi With An Absolutely Stacked Card Containing Two Title Fights.
