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Nate Diaz will now face Tony Ferguson in the UFC 279 Main Event after his scheduled opponent, Khamzat Chimaev, lost 7 1/2 pounds Friday morning.
This led to a complete reshuffle of the UFC 279 main card. Ferguson was originally scheduled to face Li Jingliang, but the latter will now face Daniel Rodriguez. Kevin Holland was due to face Daniel Rodriguez
, per ESPN’s Mark Raymond Dee, Dana White announced the news on SportsCenter’s Instagram page.
Diaz and Chimayev were supposed to be Las Vegas Ts in Saturday’s welterweight bout – Headlines for UFC 279 at Mobile Arena. Diaz weighs 171 pounds, but Chimayev weighs 178.5 pounds.
The rest of the main card includes Irene Aldana and Macy Chiasson and Johnny Walker and Ion Cuțelaba.
Diaz has only one fight left on his UFC contract before he walks away from promotion . The 37-year-old athlete has a lifetime career record of 20-13. His career includes wins over Conor McGregor, Anthony Pettis, Jim Miller and Donald Cerrone. The fight took place in June 2021, when he lost by unanimous decision to current UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards. Ferguson, 38, is a former UFC interim lightweight champion. He went 25-7 in his career, including his 18-of-19 wins and 12-game streak.
Ferguson has lost his last four fights, his most recent fight was a second-round knockout at UFC 274 in May beat Michael Chandler.
