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Nate Diaz to now face Tony Ferguson in UFC 279 main event, Khamzat Chimaev to fight Kevin Holland as co-feature

This is just wild stuff as three main event fights for tomorrow night have been changed with 24 hours until showtime.

Khamzat Chimaev of Russia poses on the scale during the UFC 279 official weigh-in at UFC APEX on September 09, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

A wild UFC 279 weigh-in just got wilder, and the top of the card has been completely overhauled.

Undefeated welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev was scheduled to fight veteran Nate Diaz, but the Chechen Chimaev came in 7.5 pounds over the weight limit due to what has been called a “medical condition.” That means the main event is off, but Dana White is ready to make a card happen anyway.

So you’ll see Diaz fight No. 2 lightweight Tony Ferguson, while Ferguson’s original opponent Li Jingliang will now face Daniel Rodriguez. Rodriguez was originally going to compete against ...

Kevin Holland, will now take on Khamzat Chimaev after they had an altercation at yesterday’s press conference. So...

Original card

Chimaev vs. Diaz
Ferguson vs. Jingliang
Holland vs. Rodriguez

Current card

Diaz vs. Ferguson
Chimaev vs. Holland
Jingliang vs. Rodriguez

Got all that?

Just another day in Dana White’s UFC. You have to figure the president of the UFC had to up the pay of the the non-Chimaev combatants to make this work.

More to come, and we’ll post the new lines when they become available from DraftKings Sportsbook.