Rumors had been swirling for the past few hours that ‘Borz’ wasn’t going to make weight, and it’d be by a lot. When Chimaev finally arrived to the scale he stepped on at 178.5 pounds.
The Chechen fighter then smiled and threw his arms up in the air. After putting his shorts back on he stepped back on the scale for photos, throwing a quick middle finger to the assembled press before walking off.
After Khamzat Chimaev inexcusably missed weight by 7.5 pounds, fans voiced their frustration with the welterweight. Some even made wild accusations that the UFC “staged” the whole situation just to sell pay-per-views.
In Las Vegas, if a main event is changed, the promoter legally has to refund tickets. If no replacement fight is made for Nate Diaz, there’s a good chance the entire card could be called off. That would be one of the biggest disasters the UFC has seen in a while. Only three numbered UFC pay-per-views have ever been canceled over the UFC’s 20+ years of promoting: UFC 151 after Jon Jones refused to face a late replacement, UFC 176 when Jose Aldo was injured and could not fight Chad Mendes, and UFC 233, which was scrapped so the main event could headline the UFC’s debut on ESPN+.
MMA fighters and personalities are taking the news of Khamzat Chimaev’s big weigh-in flub.
More reactions to Khamzat Chimaev missing weight for UFC 279:
Following news of Khamzat Chimaev coming in overweight, fans began to speculate as to why the prospect weighed in at closer to middleweight than welterweight.
MMA supporters rushed to share their thoughts on the matter. A handful of them made accusations towards the UFC and the fighters, claiming that it was a ploy by the promotion.
Alongside the theories, other fans were rightfully outraged by Khamzat Chimaev for his unprofessional nature. They made their opinions on the UFC athlete known in a series of tweets.
It is unclear what will happen with the main event.
Nate Diaz claimed that he was forced to face Chimaev. Hence, it doesn’t seem unrealistic that the UFC veteran would refuse to face a fighter who has just missed weight.
What does this weight miss mean for Khamzat Chimaev?
Missing weight is an unfortunate part of the mixed martial arts game. However, there are certain times fighters are punished more than they would normally be and this is definitely one of those times.
Khamzat Chimaev was chosen as Nate Diaz’s last fight by the UFC, potentially raising ‘Borz’s’ status by beating a huge name in the sport. It could have also handed his long-time competitor a loss as he is all but set to leave the company following this fight.
The 28-year-old will without a doubt be punished and may have to fight one or two more times before being given a shot at the 170lb title. If they choose to, the UFC could also refuse to let their rising star compete at welterweight again, forcing him into the middleweight division.
The full UFC 279 weigh-in results include:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Khamzat Chimaev (178.5)** vs. Nate Diaz (171)
- Tony Ferguson (171) vs. Li Jingliang (170.5)
- Kevin Holland (179.5) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (179)
- Irene Aldana (137.5)** vs. Macy Chiasson (139.5)**
- Ion Cutelaba (205.5) vs. Johnny Walker (205)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPNews/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
- Hakeem Dawodu (149.5)** vs. Julian Erosa (146)
- Jailton Almeida (216.5) vs. Anton Turkalj (214)
- Jamie Pickett (185.5) vs. Denis Tiuliulin (186)
- Chris Barnett (267.5)** vs. Jake Collier (265)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
- Norma Dumont () vs. Danyelle Wolf (146)
- Heili Alateng (135) vs. Chad Anheliger (135.5)
- Melissa Martinez (113.5) vs. Elise Reed (115.5)
- Yohan Lainesse (171) vs. Darian Weeks (170.5)
** = Fighters who missed weight