UFC 279: What a Sh*t show
(Photo courtesy of yahoosports.com)
UFC fans and the UFC brass entered the weigh-in ceremony for UFC 279 on Friday September 9th expecting to put the dramatic press conferences the day before, behind them. Boy were we all in for a big surprise.
After the backstage scuffle between Khamzat Chimaev and Kevin Holland, fans were expecting that to be the end of this weekend’s drama. Especially considering the two fighters were NOT originally scheduled to fight each other. However, Chimaev had something else in mind.
Chimaev was scheduled to fight UFC legend Nate Diaz in the main event at UFC 279 at Welterweight, 170 pounds. Diaz stepped up to the scale and made weight without issue, then Chimaev stepped up to the scale. Chimaev weighed in at a shocking 178 pounds, a full 7.5 pounds over the Welterweight limit.
To follow that up, in one of the most tone-deaf displays from a professional fighter, Chimaev said: “That’s not that bad.” He then proceeded to give the middle finger to the cameras.
What happened next was an afternoon filled with rumor, disbelief, and intrigue as Dana White tried desperately to salvage UFC 279. In the end, he did the best he could. The original fights were Chimaev vs. Diaz, Ferguson vs. Jingliang, and Holland vs. Rodriguez. After today’s events the card is now Diaz vs. Ferguson, Holland vs. Chimaev, and Jingliang vs. Rodriguez. In the infamous words of Dana White: “Absolute sh*t show.”