By Josh Lynnes
LAS VEGAS, NV – A remixed UFC 279 hits T-Mobile Arena this Saturday as a tumultuous fight week comes to a head.
Originally set to be headlined by Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev the UFC was sent into rebuilding the top of the card when Chimaev came in 7.5 pound over the Welterweight limit of 171 pounds. The remixed lineup now features Diaz facing another legend of the fight game in Tony Ferguson, Ferguson was initially set for the co-main event bout with Li Jingliang. Chimaev now finds himself in the co-main event slot with Kevin Holland at a catchweight of 180 pounds. Holland was originally set to take on Daniel Rodriguez. Rodriguez will now face Jingliang at 180 pounds.
A fracas between fight camps erupted before the press conference on Thursday causing the UFC to first alter the way they normally do press conferences and ultimately cancel the presser shortly after it began.
Friday morning at official weigh-ins the word started to spread that Chimaev would not be able to make the contracted weight. Khamzat seemed to shrug off the weight miss while on the scale. The UFC originally said he would be given an additional hour to cut the weight needed but that was quickly stopped. UFC officials scrambled to find a way to salvage the card.
In another last-minute weight class change top 10 Women’s Bantamweight contenders fourth ranked Irene Aldana takes on Macy Chiasson battle at a catchweight of 140 pounds.
Kicking off the main card the Johnny Walker faces Ion Cutelaba at Light Heavyweight as both fighters try to get back into the win column.
Fighting on the prelims Jake Collier battles Chris Barnett in the Heavyweight division. Denis Tiuliulin takes on Jamie Pickett as both fighters look to get things back on track. Jailton Almaeida welcomes undefeated UFC newcomer Anton Turkalj in a 220-pound catchweight bout. In the prelim feature bout Hakeem Dawodu and Julian Erosa try to maintain their momentum.
Early prelims include:
Welterweight – Darian Weeks vs. Yohan Lainesse
Strawweight – Melissa Martinez vs. Elise Reed
Bantamweight – Chad Anheliger vs. Alatengheili
Featherweight – Norma Dumont vs. Danyelle Wolf
*Dawodu missed weight(149.5lbs), will forfeit 30% of his fight purse to his opponent.
**Barnett missed weight(267.5lbs), will forfeit 20% of his fight purse to his opponent.
Early prelims start at 5:00PM CDT on UFC Fight Pass. Action then shifts to ESPN News and ESPN+ at 7:00PM followed by the pay-per-view main card at 9:00PM on ESPN+ PPV.
