A new main event has been set with 24 hours left before UFC 279 is supposed to go down.
UFC President Dana White made a live appearance on ESPN’s Sports Center where he announced the new main event.
Tony Ferguson vs. Nate Diaz is the new main event for UFC 279. This will be a 5-round bout and both men will receive significantly more money to fight each other.
Originally Ferguson was set to face Li Jingliang, but due to Khamzat Chimaev missing weight by 7.5lbs. Diaz turned down the fight and is settling for a new opponent with 24 hours to go.
A backstage altercation did break out on Thursday night before the scheduled UFC 279 pre-fight press conference was supposed to happen
This resulted in a cancelled press conference, police being all over the scene and fighters not being able to cut weight before today’s weigh-in show.
Diaz made weight (171lbs) and after the news came out that Chimaev was struggling and it showed at the weigh-in, Diaz decided to go with a different route for an opponent and that’s where Ferguson came in to save this card from losing out on a banger of a main event.
Ferguson’s move up to welterweight is the first time in 11-years that he has moved up a weight class since joining the UFC after winning the Ultimate Fighter at lightweight.
Diaz was open to fighting Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler or Ferguson. But the UFC declined those options and forced him into the Chimaev fight.
This now has resulted in a lot of hectic drama for many sides. But Diaz is surely more than happy to get the wish of fighting Ferguson in what will most likely be the final fight for Diaz in the UFC.
The new lineup for UFC 279 tomorrow night will be Diaz vs. Ferguson in a 5-round fight. Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kevin Holland in a 5-round fight and Daniel Rodriguez vs. Li Jingliang.
3 rescheduled bouts and now tomorrow night’s PPV looks much better than the original plans the UFC made.
You can listen to all of Bodyslam’s podcasts by following us on Spotify and subscribing to our YouTube Channel, or any of your favorite podcast platforms.
Follow me on Twitter: @WhoElseButRami
Follow us on Twitter: @BodyslamNet
