The UFC 279 PPV card has undergone a wholesale change following Khamzat Chimaev’s blown weight cut. But the results may just be better for everyone.
All hell broke loose this week during the lead-up to UFC 279. The regularly scheduled fight-week press conference had to be cancelled after several fight camps got into a massive backstage scuffle. But even that feels like a distant memory considering the chaos that ensued when Khamzat Chimaev missed weight by 7.5 lbs for his welterweight main event bout against Nate Diaz.
They weren’t the only ones creating chaos. A women’s bantamweight bout had to be pushed to a catchweight. Hakeem Dawodu blew his weight cut as well, and Chris Barnett became just the second heavyweight in the promotion’s history to miss the division limit.
Some madcap scrambling and several hours later, however, and we’ve still got what looks to be a quality fight card.
Here’s a look at the weigh in results for the updated UFC 279 card as it’s set to run this coming Saturday, September 10th:
Main Card (10PM ET on ESPN+ PPV)
Welterweight: Nate Diaz (171) vs. Tony Ferguson (171)
Catchweight (180 lbs): Khamzat Chimaev (178.5)* vs. Kevin Holland (179.5)
Catchweight (180 lbs): Li Jingliang (170.5) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (179)
Catchweight (140 lbs): Irena Aldana (137.5) vs. Macy Chiasson (139.5)
Light heavyweight: Johnny Walker (205) vs. Ion Cutelaba (205.5)
Prelims (8PM ET on ESPN)
Featherweight: Hakeem Dawudo 149.5** vs. Julian Erosa (146)
Catchweight (220 lbs): Jailton Almeida vs. Anton Turkalj (214)
Middleweight: Jamie Pickett (185.5) vs. Denis Tiuliulin (186)
Heavyweight: Jake Collier (265) vs. Chris Barnett (267.5)***
Early Prelims (6PM ET on ESPN/ESPN+)
Featherweight: Norma Dumont (146) vs. Danyelle Wolf (146)
Bantamweight: Chad Anheliger (135.5) vs. Alatengheili (135)
Strawweight: Elise Reed (113.5) vs. Melissa Martinez (115.5)
Welterweight: Darian Weeks (170.5) vs. Yohan Lainesse (171)