Video: Khamzat Chimaev misses weight badly, UFC 279 fight with Nate Diaz now in doubt

UFC 279’s scheduled main event between Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev has been thrown into major doubt thanks to Chimaev’s performance on the scales.…

By: Tim Bissell | 9 months ago
Video: Khamzat Chimaev misses weight badly, UFC 279 fight with Nate Diaz now in doubt
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

UFC 279’s scheduled main event between Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev has been thrown into major doubt thanks to Chimaev’s performance on the scales.

At the official weigh-ins this morning Chimaev came in at a whopping 178.5 lbs, well over the welterweight limit (171 lbs). Prior to his weigh-in, Diaz hit the scales and managed to make weight at 171 lbs.

With Chimaev dramatically missing weight the main event is now in doubt. MMA Fighting’ Ariel Helwani reported that discussions are ongoing about what happens next and how the event might be shuffled in order to keep a number of its high profile fighters on the card.

This is only the latest drama to hit UFC 279. A few days ago Chimaev was involved in an altercation with UFC middleweight Paulo Costa at the UFC Performance Institute. And last night the UFC had to make the rare decision to cancel a pre-fight press conference due to a reported melee backstage.

That melee reportedly involved Chimaev and fellow main card fighter Kevin Holland. It is also believed that Chimaev’s camp may have scuffled with Diaz and his camp during that incident, too.


UPDATE:



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Tim Bissell
Tim Bissell

Tim Bissell is a writer, editor and deputy site manager for Bloody Elbow. He has covered combat sports since 2015. Tim covers news and events and has also written longform and investigative pieces. Among Tim's specialties are the intersections between crime and combat sports. Tim has also covered head trauma, concussions and CTE in great detail.

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