Just hours before Nate Diaz was scheduled to fight Khamzat Chimaev in his final UFC fight, he was spared after catastrophe ensued at the UFC 279 weigh-ins causing a huge mix-up.
At UFC 316 on June 7, Merab Dvalishvili looks to defend his bantamweight title for a second time when he rematches Sean O’Malley in the main event.
With it being a blockbuster PPV, the card has been stacked from top to bottom and a fan favorite returns to the Octagon after just a three month layoff.
Kevin Holland takes on Vicente Luque in the main card opener, with both fighters looking to gain some momentum following impressive wins last time out.
With Holland being one of the most entertaining fighters in the promotion, he already has several memorable moments in the UFC. However, something fans remember him the most for, is when he fought Khamzat Chimaev on just hours’ notice.
Kevin Holland jumped in to fight Khamzat Chimaev to spare Nate Diaz
At UFC 279 in 2022, it was announced that Nate Diaz would fight his final fight in the UFC after an incredibly popular career in the promotion.
Unfortunately, though, he was dealt an extremely unfortunate hand as he was matched up against Khamzat Chimaev, who at the time was utterly ripping through anyone put in front of him.
Just a few days before the event, the main card fighters were scheduled to take part in the pre-fight press conference.
However, just minutes before the scheduled press conference, UFC boss Dana White came from backstage to notify fans in attendance that the press conference had been cancelled due to a huge melee backstage between ‘Borz’ and Holland.
With the event already being jeopardized, catastrophe continued just a day later when Chimaev weighed in a whopping 7.5lbs too heavy for his fight against Diaz, resulting in a huge last minute fight mix-up.
‘The Trailblazer’ was already scheduled to take on Daniel Rodriguez and Tony Ferguson was set to take on Li Jingliang on the undercard.
Following Chimaev’s monumental weight miss, Holland agreed to swap with Diaz to take on Chimaev, sparing the UFC legend from a potential beating in his final fight.
Holland went on to get utterly brutalized by the Chechen, suffering a first round submission loss after Chimaev immediately took him down to the ground.
In fairytale fashion, though, Diaz went on to score a fourth round submission win over ‘El Cucuy’, finishing off his UFC career with a perfect win.
Khamzat Chimaev finally fights for UFC gold at UFC 319
After years of utter domination, Chimaev will finally fight for the UFC middleweight title when he takes on Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 in Chicago.
Ahead of their long awaited clash, Du Plessis has sent Chimaev an ominous warning, claiming that it won’t be a pleasant experience for the Chechen.