UFC 279: Nate Diaz likely to fight Tony Ferguson after Khamzat Chimaev missed weight

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UFC 279 will look different than initially planned after Khamzat Chimaev missed weight by 7.5 pounds on Friday morning.

Chimaev was initially supposed to headline the UFC 279 card on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in a welterweight bout with Nate Diaz. While Diaz weighed in at 171 pounds, Chimaev missed weight significantly.

So instead, Diaz is in talks to fight Tony Ferguson in the co-main event on Saturday night. The fight will mark the last on Diaz’s current UFC contract.

Ferguson was supposed to square off against Li Jingliang on the card on Saturday, and both of those fighters weighed in at 170.5 on Friday.

With that fight in the works, UFC is working to finalize two other bouts to round out the card. Chimaev is reportedly going to fight Kevin Holland instead — a bout that is sure to be heated after their altercation earlier this week that resulted in a canceled news conference. Holland was going to fight Daniel Rodriguez on the card initially.

Rodriguez and Jingliang are reportedly in talks for a fight to round out the card, too. The fights, however, have yet to be confirmed.

Chimaev’s missed weight, it seems, has really sent the UFC scrambling.

This post will be updated with more information shortly.

Khamzat Chimaev of Russia won't fight Nate Diaz after all
Khamzat Chimaev missed weight by 7.5 pounds on Friday ahead of his scheduled bout with Nate Diaz, which caused the UFC to scramble. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

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