What time is the Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson fight at UFC 279?

UFC 279 kicks off with a five-fight card that is culminated by welterweights Nate Diaz and Tony Ferguson. The event will take place live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, September 6. ESPN+ PPV will have the broadcast of the main card starting at 10 p.m. ET.

The main card for the event is scheduled to get started at 10 p.m. and will be available for purchase through ESPN+ PPV for $69.99. It will get going with light heavyweights Johnny Walker and Ion Cutelaba and the main event should start around 12:30 a.m. ET.

This bout featured a wild last minute change. Diaz was scheduled to face Khamzat Chimaev, but Chimaev showed up to the weigh-in 7.5 pounds overweight. After some discussion, he was moved down to a co-feature bout against Kevin Holland and Tony Ferguson replaced him.

Diaz (21-13) is likely making his final appearance for the UFC. The winner of The Ultimate Fighter 5 has been with the promotion for 15 years, taking several layoffs during that stretch. He is known for having action-filled bloody brawls and was the first man to defeat Conor McGregor in the UFC. Other major wins on Diaz’s resume include Cowboy Cerrone and Anthony “Showtime” Pettis. He is a +700 underdog at DraftKings Sportsbook for the upcoming match with Chimaev.

Ferguson (25-7) is what you’d expect from a last-minute replacement. He’s lost four straight bouts but his status as a fan favorite has kept him on PPV cards. His last bout came in May when he lost via second round KO to Michael Chandler at UFC 274. He hasn’t won a bout since stopping Donald Cerrone in the second round of UFC 238 back in 2019.