UFC 279 undergoes main card changes, Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson to headline

Originally published at UFC 279 undergoes main card changes, Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson to headline

After one of the most chaotic weigh-ins in UFC history, Saturday’s UFC 279 saw its main card undergo musical chairs including a new main event.

After missing weight by 7.5 pounds on Friday, Khamzat Chimaev will no longer be fighting Nate Diaz in the main event at the T-Mobile Arena. Instead, Tony Ferguson has been inserted to fight Diaz on just over 24 hours’ notice.

🚨 A HISTORIC SHAKE UP TO #UFC279 🚨@DanaWhite breaks down the changes to tomorrow's main card.

pic.twitter.com/6e3EGxqJfF

— UFC (@ufc) September 9, 2022

Ferguson was scheduled to fight Li Jingliang in a welterweight fight at UFC 279 and will now compete against Diaz in a five-round main event.

Meanwhile, Chimaev will be fighting Kevin Holland on the card in another five-round fight. Holland was originally set to fight Daniel Rodriguez in a 180-pound catchweight fight with Holland weighing in at 179.5 pounds while Chimaev missed the welterweight limit at 178.5 pounds.

This comes one day after a backstage altercation between Chimaev and Holland where Chimaev allegedly struck Holland in the chest with a push kick, which was one of the contributing factors to the UFC 279 press conference being canceled on Thursday evening.

Finally, Li Jingliang will fight Daniel Rodriguez, even though Rodriguez was set to fight at 180-pounds and Jingliang was training for a 170-pound fight against Ferguson.

Chris Barnett and Hakeem Dawodu also missed weight but their fights are still scheduled to take place.

Below is the updated card for UFC 279 on Saturday night:

MAIN CARD (10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view)
*Welterweight: Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson (Five rounds)
*180-Pound Catchweight: Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kevin Holland (Five rounds)
*180-Pound Catchweight: Li Jingliang vs. Daniel Rodriguez
*140-Pound Catchweight: Irene Aldana vs. Macy Chiasson
*Light Heavyweight: Johnny Walker vs. Ion Cutelaba

PRELIMINARY CARD (8 p.m. on ESPNews, ESPN+)
*149.5-Pound Catchweight: Hakeem Dawodu vs. Julian Erosa
*220-Pound Catchweight: Jailton Almeida vs. Anton Turkalj
*Middleweight: Jamie Pickett vs. Denis Tiuliulin
*267.5-Pound Catchweight: Chris Barnett vs. Jake Collier

EARLY PRELIMS (6 p.m. on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass)
*Featherweight: Norma Dumont vs. Danyelle Wolf
*Bantamweight: Chad Anheliger vs. Alateng Heili
*Strawweight: Elise Reed vs. Melissa Martinez
*Welterweight: Darian Weeks vs. Yohan Lainesse

I’m honestly way more excited for this card now than I was before.