UFC 279

Results As They Happen, Winner Interviews And More From UFC 279: Diaz vs Ferguson, Live From T-Mobile Arena In Las Vegas.

[UFC 279: Diaz vs Ferguson](/event/ufc-279), Live From T-Mobile Arena In Las Vegas, Nevada. Lainesse was sharp with his strikes from long range, particularly the right hand. Martinez evened things up late, though, keeping the fight razor close. Martinez attacked the body in the early going, but a minute in, a stiff right cross dropped the newcomer briefly. After getting stung early, Anheliger got rocked midway through the round by a left hand from Alatengheili. And though he didn’t get the finish, it was another dominant frame for the Washington State native. And at 4:37, he got it, forcing Cutelaba to tap out to a rear naked choke. She escaped once, then twice, all the while taking a barrage of strikes before the horn sounded. Kicks were the theme of the first round, both landing, but Li having more success as he was busier with his attacks. 10, with the main card at 10pmET/7pmPT on [ESPN+ PPV](https://plus.espn.com/ufc/ppv?ex_cid=DSS-OFF-UFC-INARTICLE-EN). Welterweights [Li Jingliang](/athlete/li-jingliang) and [Daniel Rodriguez](/athlete/daniel-rodriguez) will also face off in a catchweight on the main card, all inside T-Mobile arena and available on Pay-Per-View. [Nate Diaz](/athlete/nate-diaz) and [Tony Ferguson](/athlete/tony-ferguson) in his return to the welterweight division in the main event.

It has been quite the week in UFC with Nate Diaz bowing out, for the time being, with a submission victory over Tony Ferguson in Las Vegas; Ferguson stepped ...

and then I'll be right back here to get a UFC title," Diaz said in the octagon. I kill everyone, I'm going to go through everyone, no-one can stop me!" Ferguson shot for a takedown in the fourth round but Diaz, who submitted Conor McGregor to hand the Irishman his first loss in the UFC in 2016, circled his arm around Ferguson's neck and dragged him to the ground to secure the win.

Diaz is expected to be on to bigger and better things while Chimaev could challenge for the title in multiple divisions.

Mind you, this was the same week Jingliang had shared a picture on social media of the custom new suit he had purchased for Thursday's press conference only to see the event canceled following a backstage brawl between Holland and Chimaev. Barnett is among the most relatable fighters to ever step foot in the Octagon and his unique mixture of charisma, toughness, humility and sneaky athleticism have made him a must-see folk hero. But Chimaev made him look like he didn't belong in the same cage as him in a manner so convincing that it does bring into question that the Gilbert Burns fight in April was only close because Chimaev allowed it to be by eschewing his gameplan in order to brawl and prove his toughness. With the pre-fight narratives changing so rapidly, the feeling of excitement that came with it was addicting. Forced to accept literally the toughest matchup available to him in order to snap a 15-month layoff and fight out his deal, Diaz found some much-needed good karma when the -1100 favorite Chimaev was forced to halt his weight cut on the advice of doctors. The 180-pound catchweight bout was contested at the middle ground between the welterweight and middleweight divisions, serving as a grim reminder that the native of Chechnya, Russia, remains a legitimate threat to both titles. Will Chimaev's mishap on the scales mean he will have to wait a bit longer for his first title shot as punishment? It was also about Diaz outslicking the UFC machine and an insane Friday afternoon that left fans and UFC brass alike forced to play fantasy matchmaker when imagining how to prevent a disaster. It was poetic justice for Diaz, who left the door open for an eventual UFC return during a post-fight interview in which he also gave love to Dana White. It will take some time for Chimaev to rebuild the goodwill of the UFC fan base after what happened this week, including his pro wrestling heel turn in his post-fight interview. But it's time for him to test his brand on the open market, with a boxing superfight The original UFC 279 main event provided the likely potential that Diaz would see his celebrity brand trampled upon on the way out in a move that was certainly shrewd matchmaking by the promotion in hopes of making Chimaev a star, but sadly typical of the love/hate relationship Diaz, and older brother Nick, have long had with the organization.

Diaz entered the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night with one fight left on his UFC contract. The MMA folk hero made his intentions known that he ...

"Nate Diaz is going into the sport of boxing," Paul said in a video posted to social media. "He's so durable and so tough," White said of the Ferguson fight. Diaz entered the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night with one fight left on his UFC contract. None of these other fighters know how to do it. "But I love UFC. Diaz announced his departure from the mixed martial arts organization after

Nate Diaz stopped Tony Ferguson with a guillotine choke in the fourth round of the hastily arranged main event of UFC 279 on Saturday night.

Lainesse won his UFC contract on "Dana White's Contender Series" with a 97-second KO of previously unbeaten Justin Burlinson last November. "I want to get out of the UFC for a minute and show these UFC fighters how to take over and own up another sport how you're supposed to do it," Diaz said. "At the end of the day, I love the UFC," Diaz said. "Because Conor McGregor didn't know how to do it, and none of these other fighters know how to do it, so I'm going to go out there and I'm going to take over another organization, another profession, and become the best at that, and then I'm going to be right back here to get another UFC title. 🇨🇦@LainesseYohan just getting started with his first win at #UFC279! After a frantic exchange in the opening seconds, Chimaev made quick work of Holland. Diaz and Ferguson were paired in a fight long coveted by MMA fans but initially rejected by Diaz, while Chimaev was matched at a catchweight against Holland. And I proved to myself I'm able to do three rounds with a good pace. The pay-per-view went off with several significant changes made just one day earlier because Chimaev didn't come close to his contracted weight — and then shrugged and smiled about it on the scale. Li Jingliang, who began the week expecting to face Ferguson, was matched with Daniel Rodriguez, Holland's scheduled opponent. But Diaz might not be done with the UFC, since he got a tweet earlier Saturday from Conor McGregor, who promised to complete their trilogy. Diaz's desire to fight the vaunted Chimaev seemed foolhardy in a distinctly Diaz way, but the late matchup with Ferguson was much more competitive than the original booking likely would have been.

'You're out of your mind': UFC conspiracy theory shut down as Dana slams 'f***ing lunatics'

He and I had this discussion months ago at the offices, whatever he moves on to do, I wish him nothing but the best. If he is starting his own organization or getting into promoting or doing something else, I wish him nothing but the best of luck. “If you think that the crazy dudes that we had here this week could be orchestrated into something that would be... This all happened and we had to deal with it. [Undefeated villain explodes in ‘ridiculous’ statement, exposes UFC’s ‘gross’ call](https://www.foxsports.com.au/ufc/ufc-279-khamzat-chimaev-defeats-kevin-holland-nate-diaz-crowd-reaction-video-weight-miss/news-story/dff52a5a1631860614ddc014abdfed8c) [Star ‘kicked out’ of UFC PPV after win... “There’s some f***ing lunatics on the internet that think this was all staged and planned and whatever,” White said.

The biggest takeaways from UFC 279 include Khamzat Chimaev becoming an enemy of the MMA world, Nate Diaz's next move and more.

Diaz got his moment to finish it, though, and now he gets to decide what the future holds for himself. The rest of us would’ve been sad to see it, but coming into fight week were also understanding it’s what had to be done if Diaz (21-13 MMA, 16-11 UFC) wanted to complete his contractual obligations with the organization and hit free agency. Let’s be real: The Chimaev fight would’ve been an execution, and only a handful of people wanted to end their Saturday night by witnessing that. He deserves another chance, with a full training camp and an opponent appropriate to his current skill level and career position. [first-round submission](https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2022/09/ufc-279-results-khamzat-chimaev-steamrolls-kevin-holland-with-first-round-darce-choke-submission) was as easy as it looked. Ferguson is approaching the sport in a serious manner by trying to improve himself and his training situation. Chimaev (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) botched his weight cut so badly, then proceeded to offer no apologies, flip off fans, berate them and more until he’s now arguably one of the most hated figures in the MMA space. What we can’t argue is the depth of his talent. It was an exciting comeback, but it was only a precursor to the aftermath. After the event blew up when Chimaev missed weight, he stepped into a five-round bout with Diaz, whom he’d obviously not been training for. It’s just crazy, because it wasn’t all that long ago he was the darling of the MMA world. I don’t want to call it lucky or a fluke – which is why I said fortunate – but if you’re Chiasson, it’s hard to walk away from that one feeling like you’re the definitively worse fighter.

Nate Diaz has options for his future after a fairytale final fight to his UFC contract at UFC 279. But what's his best move?

[clear about his intentions](https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2022/09/ufc-279-nate-diaz-reaction-final-fight-contract-tony-ferguson-return) in the aftermath of the event. Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis after UFC 279. It wasn’t against Khamzat Chimaev as originally scheduled, but Tony Ferguson (25-8 MMA, 15-6 UFC) instead, who Diaz managed to

What can we take away from a unique main event at UFC 279 and victories from Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev? Jeff Wagenheim, Marc Raimondi and Brett Okamoto ...

[Jamie Toney](http://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/2570362/jamie-toney)via triangle choke. [Khamzat Chimaev](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/4684751/khamzat-chimaev), who missed weight badly for his weigh-in by 7.5 pounds, ended up in a matchup versus [Kevin Holland](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/3943695/kevin-holland). Because when Walker performed the worm to celebrate a victory back in 2019, [he dislocated his shoulder and required surgery](/mma/story/_/id/27896237/remember-ufc-star-johnny-walker-got-hurt-doing-worm). [Johnny Walker](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/3146944/johnny-walker) used to be a wildman, entertaining fans with his flying, spinning attacks. But after winning his first three fights inside the Octagon with first-round finishes, he met his match in a knockout loss to [Corey Anderson](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/3112020/corey-anderson) in November 2019. Walker scored knockouts in 15 of his first 18 victories, but in this fight, he took his opponent to the canvas and methodically worked his way to a rear-naked choke submission. Fans will pay their hard-earned money to see fighter after fighter come into the Octagon in an attempt to beat a seemingly invulnerable Chimaev. The truth is, there could be a lot of money in this for the UFC -- Chimaev as the villain taking out all of the UFC's fan favorites, like Holland. It makes all the sense in the world, and Covington is in the best position to test him. Then, in his postfight interview with Joe Rogan, he went full heel, seemingly relishing in the hearty boos being heaped on him by the Las Vegas crowd. It was a matchup of two fighters at essentially the same point in their careers. These injuries eventually added some degree of urgency for two men in danger of not making it to the finish line.

After Khamzat Chimaev weighed in heavy, his fight with Nate Diaz was called off. Diaz now faces Tony Ferguson whilst Chimaev goes in with Kevin Holland. Li ...

- Denis Tiuliulin vs. - Kevin Holland vs. - Main event cagewalks (approx): 6 a.m. - Li Jingliang vs. - Nate Diaz vs. BST / 1 a.m.

A missed weight sent UFC 279 into a tailspin on Friday in what will surely result in an unpredictable pay-per-view. Three new matchups all set one day ...

and Mexico on the ESPN+ subscription streaming service for a pay-per-view cost. The energy in the arena is already high. While on her back, Aldana drilled a standing Chiasson in the ribs with her heel. Chiasson went down in a heap and Aldana picked up the stunning TKO. The innocent bystanders — Li Jingliang and Daniel Rodriguez — will meet in a catchweight bout at 180 pounds. Diaz chases Ferguson down, lands a combination and stops to talk to commentary. Diaz rips Ferguson with another combination and lands a hard body kick. Ferguson goes for the takedown and puts Ferguson in a guillotine. This might be the last time we ever see Nate Diaz in the Octagon. As for Chimaev, he ended up in the co-main event with Kevin Holland — with whom he had a backstage altercation at the UFC 279 press conference Thursday. "I want to get out of the UFC for a minute and show the fighters how to take over the sport like your sport like you are supposed to do it," Diaz said without specifying exactly what his next move would be. As expected, Diaz was sharp with his standup and found the mark with combination punches.

Nate Diaz has options for his future after a fairytale final fight to his UFC contract at UFC 279. But what's his best move?

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Despite Nate Diaz declaring plans to leave the UFC after his win over Tony Ferguson, Dana White had nothing but praise for a fighter who has spent the last ...

[They] said, ‘Take him down.’ He was chopping that leg, kicking that front leg, obviously doing damage and his corner told him to take him down. He’s starting his own organization or getting into promoting or doing something else, I wish him nothing but the best of luck. Literally, I don’t know if you guys have monitors or you can hear what’s going on, but we went into Tony’s corner that round and his corner for some reason told him to take [Diaz] down. Whatever he moves on to do, I wish him nothing but the best. “It’s been a blast having him here. I wish him well.