Things are not looking good for one half of the UFC 279 headliner.
There is huge concern that Khamzat Chimaev is in major jeopardy of missing weight by a big amount and it could result in them being taken off the card and a backup fighter being placed in to fight Nate Diaz.
No word yet on who is that backup fighter, Chimaev was involved in a backstage altercation yesterday with Diaz’s crew and many others.
An update from Ariel Helwani detailed that Chimaev is still not on weight by at least 8-10lbs. He has not been seen since last night after the backstage altercations involving Kevin Holland, Diaz and others.
Options are currently being discussed on what to do next in regards to the main event and entire main card.
The UFC is rumored to potentially slide Holland into the main event spot against Diaz which has been the goal for Holland since Diaz announced his final fight is coming up.
Diaz would go up to the scale and make weight for the fight at 171lbs for his currently in-jeopardy main event bout vs. Chimaev.
Another rumor is that Tony Ferguson could be placed into the main event if Chimaev is forced to pull out due to not making weight.
A fight between Ferguson vs. Diaz is a dream for fans of MMA. But under these circumstances it is unfortunate that it has to happen this way.
Holland had this to say regarding the news about Chimaev, letting it be known that “professionals make weight” following his altercation with Chimaev at yesterday’s pre-fight press conference for UFC 279.
Former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones tweeted a concerned emoji as many await Chimaev to step on the scale and see if this fight does or doesn’t happen tomorrow night at UFC 279.
Chimaev came up to the weight-scale and weighed in at over 7.5lbs, missing the limit for the welterweight division.
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