Well, I woke up to find that UFC 279 went through went through a crazy crazy change.
Yesterday, the UFC 279 press conference had to be canceled due to an apparent huge brawl that happened backstage between Khamzat's people and Nate's people.
Today, Khamzat misses weight by like 7.5 pounds and that critical error changed this card in a mad way.
Basically take these posts I made yesterday...
And now mix them all up! Tomorrow's final three fights now look like this:
- Nate Diaz vs Tony Furgeson
- Khamzat Chimaev vs Kevin Holland
- Li Jingliang vs Daniel Rodriquez
The UFC when Khamzat missed weight:
Those old posts that are now irrelevant, will be trippy to look back on!
The only person facing a major weight difference as a result of these changes, will be Li Jingliang. He faces Daniel Rodriguez who was cutting weight for 180 pounds, while Li was expecting a 170 pound match. Pretty badass for Li to accept the fight. Still a massive card to be on for Li, and fans everywhere are going to give him a lot of respect for this.
I think D-Rod's size is gonna play a massive role in this matchup, D-Rod gets it done by knockout.
Khamzat and Kevin will be just about a pound off from each other, pretty much nothing. This fight is going to be legendary. I wonder if they will purely strike, I wouldn't be shocked to see Khamzat try to just ragdoll Holland. I think it's probably worth a shot for Khamzat to try that. Holland might be the better pure striker though.
Both Khamzat and Holland are known to float between welterweight and middleweight. Having these guys meet in the middle is great. At the weigh-ins, these two looked to be like exactly the same size. Obviously they weigh the same, but even in build and height and everything. They are just built reallt similarly.
On top of all of that, these guys don't seem to like each other either. This is gonna be a fun one!! Both these guys are in title contention in my opinion. If Holland wins, his whole life changes. Overall this fight is a win win for both men. Even if Khamzat loses, overall, he'll still be a huge attraction.
Since they both float in two of the same division, I'm unsure how this will affect their rankings in either division.... But that's something to consider later.
I think Khamzat is too strong in the end, and will get a decision victory. This fight could be special.
This main event between Nate and Tony is going to be historical. As much as I said Nate and Khamzat would have been big, Tony vs Nate means so much in terms of MMA history as well. Probably more.
Two absolute veterans that have fought everyone. Two absolute Hall of Famers that have brought countless memories to UFC fans everywhere. These guys are not in their prime, but them matching up while still pretty fresh, but on the backend of their careers, feels so poetic. It's like two old warriors, finally meeting after years. Hardened gladiators testing each other. 41 Combined UFC fights, both of them are former Ultimate Fighter Champions.
Tomorrow is going to be a very special main event. I hope nobody gets finished and it goes to a decision. A draw would be just epic. LOL.
I lean towards Nate a bit, but I don't really wanna predict this one. I am just going to let this fight be, and appreciate it.
The UFC feels a little like the WWE lately... LOL!