UFC 279’s main event between Khamzat Chimaev and Nate Diaz is in jeopardy after Chimaev missed weight by 7.5 pounds.
Rumors had been swirling for the past few hours that ‘Borz’ wasn’t going to make weight, and it’d be by a lot. When Chimaev finally arrived to the scale he stepped on at 178.5 pounds. The Chechen fighter then smiled and threw his arms up in the air. After putting his shorts back on he stepped back on the scale for photos, throwing a quick middle finger to the assembled press before walking off.
No one knows what this now means for the main event and the UFC 279 card as a whole. Will Nate Diaz accept a fight against Chimaev, given he was already the bigger fighter coming into this event? Will the UFC attempt to use some of the other fighters sitting around 170 and 185 pounds (Kevin Holland, Daniel Rodriguez, Tony Ferguson, and Li Jingliang) to move things around?
In Las Vegas, if a main event is changed, the promoter legally has to refund tickets. If no replacement fight is made for Nate Diaz, there’s a good chance the entire card could be called off. That would be one of the biggest disasters the UFC has seen in a while. Only three numbered UFC pay-per-views have ever been canceled over the UFC’s 20+ years of promoting: UFC 151 after Jon Jones refused to face a late replacement, UFC 176 when Jose Aldo was injured and could not fight Chad Mendes, and UFC 233, which was scrapped so the main event could headline the UFC’s debut on ESPN+.
We’ll keep you informed on all the updates to this massive mess, but for now let’s take a look at how other MMA fighters and personalities are taking the news of Khamzat Chimaev’s big weigh-in flub.
178.5 for @KChimaev. He will have an additional hour to make the weight.
[ #UFC279 | Tomorrow | Live on ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/rJY1WZoKAA ] pic.twitter.com/0xTW3aTzwL
— UFC (@ufc) September 9, 2022
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https://twitter.com/bjpenndotcom/status/1568285847404924928?s=21&t=cBBvIpoFAfFw7yN-hzkWsA
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) September 9, 2022
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https://twitter.com/gilbertdurinho/status/1568289352463048710?s=21&t=cBBvIpoFAfFw7yN-hzkWsA
More reactions to Khamzat Chimaev missing weight for UFC 279:
Khamzat weighed 178!
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) September 9, 2022
I don’t think I’ve seen a fighter in recent history fall from public favor so fast. Just a month ago everyone loved Khamzat and then he took the Diaz fight, feuded with Paulo & Holland then misses weight and now people is shitting on him
— Terrance ‘T Wrecks’ McKinney (@twrecks155) September 9, 2022
Being 8 pounds over is more than he can grab a towel and cover up on scale lol
— Terrance ‘T Wrecks’ McKinney (@twrecks155) September 9, 2022
8-10 pounds?!? Unprofessional as fuck https://t.co/HvUCIkuW5N
— Casey Oneill (@kingcaseymma) September 9, 2022
https://twitter.com/borrachinhamma/status/1568288869627625472?s=21&t=cBBvIpoFAfFw7yN-hzkWsA
Just give us Nate vs Tony
— Bryce Mitchell (@ThugnastyMMA) September 9, 2022
https://twitter.com/megananderson/status/1568289324885590017?s=21&t=cBBvIpoFAfFw7yN-hzkWsA
Khamzat Spends all week acting tough starting fight with everyone then miss’s weight by 10lbs
This clown should have focused on cutting weight instead of showing off for the cameras
— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) September 9, 2022
https://twitter.com/DerekBrunson/status/1568291977699139584
Is it still gonna be a PPV now? #UFC279
— Kyle Daukaus (@KyleDaukaus) September 9, 2022
He’s young and dumb but he knows how to fight
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) September 9, 2022
What was your reaction to Khamzat Chimaev brutally missing weight for UFC 279? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!