Footage has finally been released of the backstage melee that forced the cancelation of UFC 279’s pre-fight press conference this past Thursday. The entire ordeal wasn’t captured, but the video that was released showed an altercation between co-main event counterparts Khamzat Chimaev and Kevin Holland, as well as a brief appearance by Nate Diaz and team.
Fight fans were thrown for a loop on Thursday when Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White came on stage to announce the cancelation of UFC 279’s pre-fight press conference. White didn’t go into too much detail, but the UFC boss did say things got seriously out of hand behind the curtains and the organization felt that it would be the wrong move to bring all of the fighters on stage.
While a handful of fighters and team members were involved in Thursday’s behind-the-scenes melee the only video footage to come out as of now is a scuffle between Chimaev and Holland. Nate Diaz also made a brief appearance at the end of the video, but nothing too incriminating.
Check it out in the above and below video player, both courtesy of UFC/ESPN:
Footage of the altercations that ensued behind the scenes before the #UFC279 press conference (via @UFC) pic.twitter.com/kTNF1XiyMK
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 10, 2022
Luckily, Khamzat and Holland will have a chance to settle their beef later tonight at UFC 279. Chimaev was originally expected to meet Diaz in the main event, but after missing weight by nearly eight pounds on Friday “Borz” will now fight Holland in the co-headliner. Diaz, on the other hand, will meet Tony Ferguson in the main event.
Stick with Mania for more news and footage regarding UFC 279’s backstage incident.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 279 fight card, starting with the early UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET as well as the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET by clicking HERE. That’s followed by the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV with live results and play-by-play action RIGHT HERE.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 279 news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the complete UFC 279 fight card and PPV line up click here.