Khamzat Chimaev stepped off the scales at the UFC 279 weigh-in around an hour ago and, because of what happened there, UFC 279 has been thrown into chaos.
The undefeated Chimaev weighed a whopping 178.5 lbs on the scales for his welterweight main event with Nate Diaz (who weighed in at 171 lbs).
That huge disparity means there are now serious doubts that Chimaev will compete on Saturday night.
MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani reported that he had been in touch with sources close to the situation and that Chimaev’s missed weight is being blamed on a ‘medical issue’.
Helwani stated that it is ‘unclear’ how that issue might affect Chimaev now or in the long term.
I’m told the reason why Chimaev missed weight by so much was due to a “medical issue.” Unclear what that is and how that affects him long term.
Developing.
We are live: https://t.co/xYPaBM2B3g
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 9, 2022
Helwani’s report does not back up a fan’s claim that Chimaev’s behaviour at a Las Vegas restaurant is to be blamed for him coming in heavy.
Ran into Khamzat Chimaev He was hanging out at a restaurant for hours drinking sparkling water and eating the night before weigh ins and now Khamzat misses weight . I was worried all night about this when I saw it.hope the fight still happens tomorrow . #ufc279 pic.twitter.com/CMrFSxxtxO
— Mini Khabib (@Mini_Khabib) September 9, 2022
With Chimaev weighing in closer to middleweight than welterweight (perhaps he wants to fight Paulo Costa tomorrow?) Nate Diaz may have to wait longer to fulfill his UFC contract and get his release from the promotion.
Conversations are reportedly ongoing with the UFC to determine whether or not this fight is rescheduled of Diaz gets to compete against a different opponent.
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