UFC 279

UFC 279: Diaz vs. Ferguson
The poster for UFC 279: Diaz vs. Ferguson
Information
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	September 10, 2022 (2022-09-10)
Venue	T-Mobile Arena
City	Paradise, Nevada, United States
Attendance	19,125 [1]
Total gate	$5,670,271.86 [1]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa UFC 279: Diaz vs. Ferguson UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song

UFC 279: Diaz vs. Ferguson was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 10, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ^[2]

Background

The promotion originally targeted a UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between current champion Aljamain Sterling and former two-time champion T.J. Dillashaw as the main event, but opted to change plans and move it to UFC 280. ^{[3] [4]}

A welterweight bout between Khamzat Chimaev and former lightweight title challenger (also The Ultimate Fighter 5 lightweight winner) Nate Diaz was originally expected to headline the event. ^[5] However at the weigh-ins, Chimaev weighed in at 178.5 pounds, 7.5 pounds over the welterweight non-title limit and the bout was cancelled. As a result, the organization opted to shuffle a trio of fights: a new main event featuring Diaz against former interim UFC Lightweight Champion (also The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos welterweight winner) Tony Ferguson, who was originally scheduled to face Li Jingliang in a welterweight bout, was then set. In addition, Chimaev was instead matched up with Kevin Holland, who was originally scheduled to face Daniel Rodriguez at a catchweight of 180 pounds, though the new matchup would be a five round bout (Chimaev wasn't fined due to the new booking). Finally, Rodriguez and Jingliang were matched up at a catchweight of 180 pounds. ^[6]

A trio of bouts was originally scheduled for this date, but they were eventually pushed back a week to UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song as the promotion adjusted its schedule in June: lightweight bouts featuring Trey Ogden vs. Daniel Zellhuber and Nikolas Motta vs. Cameron VanCamp; as well as a welterweight bout between Louis Cosce and Trevin Giles. ^[7]

A women's strawweight bout between Hannah Cifers and Melissa Martinez was expected to take place at the event. ^[8] However, Cifers pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Elise Reed. ^{[9] [10]}

A middleweight bout between Jamie Pickett and Denis Tiuliulin was expected to take place at UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Fiziev, but it was moved to this card due to Tiuliulin suffering an injury during the week of the fight. ^{[11] [12] [13]}

A heavyweight bout between Shamil Abdurakhimov and Jailton Almeida was expected to take place at the event. ^[14] However, Abdurakhimov was forced to withdraw due to visa issues and was replaced by Anton Turkalj at a catchweight of 220 pounds. ^[15]

The organization usually holds a pre-fight press-conference two days before numbered events, but this edition's was cancelled mid section. All fighters in the last three bouts of the event were expected to participate, however after a lengthy delay, UFC President Dana White showed up only with Holland and Rodriguez. He announced that fighters would be brought in pairs, but cancelled the press-conference after their participation instead for "everybody's safety". ^[16] He later revealed that an altercation involving four fighters and their teams took place backstage. It initiated with Chimaev and Holland, with Diaz eventually getting involved. ^[17] The Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) is expected to investigate the incident and potentially discipline all licensees. ^[18]

In addition to Chimaev missing weight, featherweight Hakeem Dawodu and heavyweight Chris Barnett both missed weight as well. Dawodu weighed at 149.5 pounds, 3.5 pounds over the non-title featherweight limit, while Barnett weighed in at 267.5 pounds, 1.5 pounds over the non-title heavyweight limit. Both bouts proceeded at catchweight with Dawodu and Barnett each fined 30% and 20% of their purses, which went to their opponents Julian Erosa and Jake Collier respectively. A women's bantamweight bout between Irene Aldana and The Ultimate Fighter: Heavy Hitters women's featherweight winner Macy Chiasson was also changed to a 140-pound catchweight bout, but it was not due to a weight miss. ^[19]

Results

Main card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Welterweight	Nate Diaz	def.	Tony Ferguson	Submission (guillotine choke)	4	2:52
Catchweight (180 lb)	Khamzat Chimaev	def.	Kevin Holland	Submission (D'Arce choke)	1	2:13
Catchweight (180 lb)	Daniel Rodriguez	def.	Li Jingliang	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)	3	5:00
Catchweight (140 lb)	Irene Aldana	def.	Macy Chiasson	KO (upkick to the body)	3	2:21
Light Heavyweight	Johnny Walker	def.	Ion Cuțelaba	Submission (rear-naked choke)	1	4:37
Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Catchweight (149.5 lb)	Julian Erosa	def.	Hakeem Dawodu	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Catchweight (220 lb)	Jailton Almeida	def.	Anton Turkalj	Submission (rear-naked choke)	1	4:27
Middleweight	Denis Tiuliulin	def.	Jamie Pickett	TKO (knee and punches)	2	4:52	[lower-alpha 1]
Catchweight (267.5 lb)	Chris Barnett	def.	Jake Collier	TKO (punches)	2	2:24
Early preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Women's Featherweight	Norma Dumont	def.	Danyelle Wolf	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–26)	3	5:00
Bantamweight	Alateng Heili	def.	Chad Anheliger	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Women's Strawweight	Elise Reed	def.	Melissa Martinez	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Yohan Lainesse	def.	Darian Weeks	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)	3	5:00

1. Tiuliulin was deducted 1 point in round 2 due to a groin strike.

^[20]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. ^[21]

• Fight of the Night: No bonus awarded.
• Performance of the Night: Nate Diaz, Irene Aldana, Johnny Walker, and Jailton Almeida

See also

• Martial Arts portal

• List of UFC events
• List of current UFC fighters
• 2022 in UFC

References

1. Mike Bohn (2022-09-11). "UFC 279 post-event facts: Nate Diaz, Khamzat Chimaev make history for different reasons". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
2. Raphael Marinho (2022-07-13). "UFC plans to have last numbered events of the year in New York and Las Vegas". ge.globo.com. Retrieved 2022-07-19.(in Portuguese)
3. Nolan King (2022-07-19). "Aljamain Sterling vs. T.J. Dillashaw no longer on UFC 279 table, but possible for UFC 280". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
4. Mike Bohn (2022-07-20). "Aljamain Sterling vs. T.J. Dillashaw title fight rescheduled for UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
5. Nolan King (2022-07-19). "Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev verbally agreed to for UFC 279, says Hunter Campbell". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
6. Nolan King (2022-09-09). "UFC 279 matchup shuffle: Nate Diaz headlines vs. Tony Ferguson, Khamzat Chimaev faces Kevin Holland in co-main". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
7. Nolan King and Farah Hannoun (2022-10-06). "With UFC 279 in the works, multiple bouts shift as September schedule tweaks". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
8. Tristen Critchfield (2022-06-01). "Combate Champ Melissa Martinez to meet Hannah Cifers at UFC event on Sept. 10". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
9. Nolan King (2022-06-19). "Hannah Cifers withdraws from UFC 279 bout vs. Melissa Martinez". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
10. Alex Behunin (2022-07-02). "Elise Reed welcomes Melissa Martinez to the Octagon at UFC 279". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
11. Nolan King (2022-06-27). "Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (June 20-26)". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
12. Steven Marrocco (2022-07-05). "UFC Vegas 58 loses Jamie Pickett vs. Denis Tiuliulin, Austin Lingo vs. David Onama". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
13. Nolan King (2022-07-24). "UFC 279 gets rescheduled Jamie Pickett vs. Denis Tiuliulin bout". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
14. Lucas Rezende (2022-06-04). "Jailton Almeida renews UFC contract, meets Shamil Abdurakhimov in September". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
15. Staff (2022-09-01). "UFC Fight Roundup: Jennifer Maia tries to snap skid, Jailton Almeida bulks down for UFC 279". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
16. Nolan King (2022-09-08). "Dana White cancels UFC 279 press conference 'for everybody's safety' after 'big sh*t show' backstage". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
17. Nolan King and Ken Hathaway (2022-09-08). "Dana White describes scene of backstage melee at UFC 279 press conference: 'All hell broke loose'". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
18. Danny Segura (2022-09-12). "Nevada Athletic Commission to investigate UFC 279 press conference altercation for potential disciplinary action". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-09-12.
19. Staff (2022-09-09). "UFC 279 weigh-in results: Disastrous session leads to fight card overhaul". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
20. "UFC 279: Diaz vs. Ferguson". Ultimate Fighting Championship. 23 July 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
21. Dan Hiergesell (2022-09-11). "UFC 279 bonuses: Nate Diaz banks $50K with first finish since 2016". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2022-09-11.