Nate Diaz hitting his signature point at UFC 279
UFC 279: Here’s a look at the UFC 279 results, which had a few star-studded fights on the card as well as who all received the bonus
Nate Diaz fought out his UFC contract in the most Diaz way possible by submitting Tony Ferguson via guillotine choke in the fourth round. UFC 279 was by far the most topsy-turvy fight week by leaps and bounds. Khamzat Chimaev, who was supposed to fight Nate Diaz in the main event, missed weight by a whopping 7.5. lbs which forced him out of the fight. The card had to be reshuffled and Nate Diaz was paired against Tony Ferguson while Khamzat Chimaev fought Kevin Holland in the co-main event. Both fights were scheduled for five rounds.
Nate Diaz is a veteran in the sport of MMA. Winner of the Ultimate Fighter season 5, Diaz has began training at the age of 11 with his older brother Nick Diaz. A third-degree black belt in jiu-jitsu, Diaz has fought the biggest names in the sport of MMA.
He fought another veteran in Tony Ferguson and the fight absolutely delivered. Diaz had a tough time in the initial rounds trying to deal with the awkwardness of Ferguson. ‘El Cucuy’ had great success with the inside leg kick that he chopped repeatedly. A lump-like swelling had developed on Diaz’s leg but if history is to be believed, Diaz’s toughness cannot be questioned. He powered through and found his boxing range and started landing combinations.
In the end of the third round, the fight was fairly contested and could’ve gone either way. Ferguson’s corner asked him to shoot for a takedown which would later cost the former interim lightweight champion. As soon as Tony shot for the takedown, Diaz wrapped a tight guillotine that forced the tap out of Ferguson. Nate Diaz walked away with a submission win reminiscent of the one he pulled off against Kurt Pellegrino back in the days.
He took the microphone to deliver his post-fight interview: “I want to get out of the UFC for a minute and show all these UFC fighters how to take over and own up another sport, how you’re supposed to do it. 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, I’m going to take over another profession and become the best at that… All you mother f*s out there trying to run other sports, boxing, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu… If you think you’re the top! Creme de la creme right here, I’m coming for you.”
In the UFC 279 co-main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Chimaev (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) rag dolled Kevin Holland (23-8 MMA, 10-5 UFC) in a 180-pound catchweight bout, scoring a D’Arce choke submission at 2:13 of Round 1.
Chimaev immediately shot for a takedown, grabbing a hold of a the long rangy Holland. Chimaev had to scramble quite a bit to keep Holland down, but once he did, he controlled him and eventually cinched in the submission, forcing him to tap.
“Borz” has been showered with boos from the crowd in the past 48 hours after he failed to make the welterweight mark for his originally scheduled bout against Nate Diaz.
Chimaev weighed in at 178.5 pounds and claimed he wanted to continue cutting weight, but doctors stopped him. As a result, the card was shuffled and he ended up drawing Holland in a catchweight bout.
Nate Diaz def. Tony Ferguson via sub (guillotine) (R4, 2:52)
Khamzat Chimaev def. Kevin Holland via sub (R1, 2:13)
Daniel Rodriguez def. Li Jingliang via split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)
Irene Aldana def. Macy Chiasson via third-round TKO (2:21)
Johnny Walker def. Ion Cutelaba via sub (RNC) (R1, 4:37)
Julian Erosa def. Hakeem Dawodu via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Jailton Almeida def. Anton Turkalj via submission (RNC) (R1, 4:27)
Denis Tiuliulin def. Jamie Pickett via second-round TKO (4:52)
Chris Barnett def. Jake Collier via second-round TKO (2:24)
Norma Dumont def. Danyelle Wolf via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 30-26)
Alatengheili def. Chad Anheliger via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Elise Reed def. Melissa Martinez via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Yohan Lainesse def. Darian Weeks via split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)
These are the fighters who took home an extra $50,000:
Performance of the Night: Nate Diaz
Performance of the Night: Irene Aldana
Performance of the Night: Johnny Walker
Performance of the Night: Jailton Almeida