UFC 279

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.

Background

The promotion originally targeted a UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between former 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.

Originally, a welterweight bout headlining Khamzat Chimaev against Nate Diaz, former lightweight title challenger and winner of The Ultimate Fighter 5, was set for the event. However, Chimaev weighed in at 178.5 pounds, exceeding the non-title welterweight limit by 7.5 pounds, leading to the bout's cancellation.

In response to this, the UFC made several changes:

1. Nate Diaz was matched with Tony Ferguson, the former interim UFC Lightweight Champion and winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos. Ferguson had been set to face Li Jingliang in a welterweight bout.
2. Chimaev was paired with Kevin Holland, who was initially scheduled to fight Daniel Rodriguez at a catchweight of 180 pounds. Their new bout would extend to five rounds, and Chimaev wasn't fined due to this new arrangement.
3. As a result of the shuffle, Rodriguez and Jingliang were set to compete at a catchweight of 180 pounds.

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.