UFC 279: Diaz vs. Ferguson (09/10/2022) - Las Vegas, NV (T-Mobile Arena)

[The Natural]

"ROBBED" is trending on Twitter in the UK with 32.4K Tweets. Feel for Li Jingliang.

Edited September 11, 2022 by The Natural

[DreamBroken]

Chimaev fully embracing the super heel role is fantastic. I KILL ALL OF YOU

[jaedmc]

Joe Rogan trying to talk weight cut logic to a goddamn psychopath.

"if you can't cut the weight  no title shot."
"I kill everybody no one stop me"
"Yeah but..."
"Kill everybody!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[Elsalvajeloco]

Shit, Kevin Holland didn't even get to leave his side of the octagon. That was ridiculous.

[The Natural]

11 hours ago, The Natural said:

If Tony Ferguson loses, that's five in a row. Ferguson took a life changing beating from Justin Gaethje which was hard to watch, somehow didn't submit from that armbar by Charles Oliveira and was KTFO last time by Michael Chandler in one of the best KOs in MMA history. Any other year, that would win by far Knockout of the Year. Might still be to some but it has to be Leon Edward's headkick in the last minute of the fight he was losing to the P4P #1 and UFC Welterweight Champion who was about to tie Anderson Silva for most consecutive UFC wins with 16.

O-5 now. Diaz by submission in R4. First time Tony has submitted since 2009.

[Elsalvajeloco]

[The Natural]

[The Natural]

Nate needs to go for 4:20 next time round.

[Execproducer]

Nate needs to go box Jake whatshisname, get completely dominated (like he was in most of his losses) for a decision loss, make a big pile of cash, and fuck off to some beach sipping Coronas for the rest of his life. His shtick that him, his brother, and whoever happens to be in his crew are the only real fighters grew tiresome a long time ago.  Sure he has been hella entertaining but there are plenty of other trainwrecks in the UFC to fill his void. The Nate that took 4 rounds to beat a shot Tony was going to get destroyed by that asshole Chimaev. He needs to quit while people still buy into his bullshit.

[Elsalvajeloco]

4 minutes ago, Execproducer said:

Nate needs to go box Jake whatshisname, get completely dominated (like he was in most of his losses) for a decision loss, make a big pile of cash, and fuck off to some beach sipping Coronas for the rest of his life. His shtick that him, his brother, and whoever happens to be in his crew are the only real fighters grew tiresome a long time ago.  Sure he has been hella entertaining but there are plenty of other trainwrecks in the UFC to fill his void. The Nate that took 4 rounds to beat a shot Tony was going to get destroyed by that asshole Chimaev. He needs to quit while people still buy into his bullshit.

If I were Nate, the one thing I would worry about is the market out there I know Coker would love to have him since he can do good gate business in Cali (specifically Bakersfield, Stockton, and all the way up to San Jose), however, he still can make more money in the UFC. There are no real money fights for in Bellator.

As for boxing, he can fight Jake Paul but I don't think he's going to get the money he thinks he will get. There is a reason why Jake is choosing some of the opponents he's choosing. Other than Anderson Silva, who has Jake fought that make any significant money in combat sports? Maybe Woodley but I doubt it. 

After Jake Paul, what is there? BKFC would probably love to do Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry but is that really going to make real money? This is a promotion that is likely hemorrhaging money. Moreover, they don't really have the visibility to make a real dent in terms of business. I think that's why the PVZ fights likely didn't do any real business. They're just another promotion doing fights. No more, no less.

I think the good thing about Nate being in the UFC is unlike Nick he is still good enough to beat a certain caliber of opponent to stay relevant. Up until this last fight prior to the opponent change, Masvidal fight notwithstanding, they've done a great job not putting him in there with killer opponents. 

Jake Paul is going to knock his head and discard him. No real promotional body in boxing is going to sign him because he is damn near 40 with zero real boxing experience. He has been doing MMA his whole life. The one thing I know about combat sports is you don't want to be in a volatile free agent market when you're at an age and physical condition where circling the drain is the norm. Moreover, it's not that promising when the only person who has a real long term investment in you is you.

[The Natural]

Meltzer:

Regarding the Li Jingliang vs. Daniel Rodriguez fight, it was a very controversial decision for Rodriguez. Judge Michael Ball had rounds two and three for Rodriguez. Judge Douglas Crosby has one and two for Rodriguez. Judge Ron McCarthy only had round one for Rodriguez. Almost every media score had 29-28 for Jingliang, with 92% scoring for him and 8% for Rodriguez.

---

[The Natural]

I'd like Tony Ferguson to retire but I fear he's going the BJ Penn/Chuck Liddell route. Justin Gaethje gave him a life changing beating, uncomfortable seeing how Tony shook and reach for his head with his hand. You can't undo that. Michael Chandler's front kick putting Tony Ferguson out cold for the first time was scary as fuck, Ferguson was unconscious a long time and I was worried for him. 0-5. Tony's last win was in June 2019 beating a shot Donald Cerrone.

[RIPPA]

https://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/34579957/if-pull-will-miracle-14-hours-saved-ufc-279

Quote

FOR MAJDI SHAMMAS, the early morning hours of Friday, Sept. 9 in Las Vegas were a manager's worst nightmare.

At approximately 4 a.m. local time, Shammas knew his fighter, Khamzat Chimaev, would not make weight for a UFC 279 main event against Nate Diaz. Chimaev and his team had done all they could, but with about five pounds left to cut to the 171-pound limit, Chimaev's body was seizing up. He was vomiting and cramping. Under the advice of physicians, the cut was called off.

Now, Shammas needed to tell the UFC. He needed to tell the biggest fight promotion in the world that its main event Sept. 10 couldn't happen as it was currently drawn up. UFC 279 was a massive opportunity for Chimaev -- a chance to beat one of the sport's biggest stars in his first pay-per-view headliner. To miss weight ahead of a gift like this was nothing short of disaster.

Shammas' phone call woke up UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell, who lives in Las Vegas. When chaos hits the UFC, Campbell is the one furiously operating behind the scenes. The UFC unmistakably follows the vision and lead of its president Dana White, but Campbell usually handles the act of seeing it through.

With the sun still yet to rise, Campbell and Shammas discussed Chimaev's weight, the inevitable fallout that was to come and potential solutions that might keep the card together.

At that time, the top of the UFC 279 lineup consisted of a welterweight bout between Diaz and Chimaev, a welterweight bout between Tony Ferguson and Li Jingliang and a 180-pound catchweight bout between Kevin Holland and Daniel Rodriguez. It was immediately clear that all three fights might need to change, as one change would lead to another and another in a domino effect. And all of this was taking place just hours before all six fighters involved were scheduled to weigh in at 9 a.m. PT.

"When we talked about pulling this off early that morning, it was just a fantasy," Shammas told ESPN. "Hunter was like, 'If we pull this off, it will be a miracle. An absolute miracle.'"