Khamzat Chimaev gave reporters the middle finger and claimed his weight miss was "not bad" after stepping on the scale 7.5lb overweight.
Chimaev, 28, needed to step on the scale no heavier than 171lb for his welterweight fight with Nate Diaz in Las Vegas but he weighed in at 178.5lb. Two days before the weigh-ins, Chimaev told former two-weight UFC champion turned analyst Daniel Cormier he weighed 187lb, meaning he had to cut 16lb in just 48 hours to make the welterweight limit.
It was unclear if Chimaev was going to weigh in for his fight with Diaz, who stepped on the scale at 171lb, as the Chechen was reportedly 10lb overweight. Chimaev then walked to the scale with a smile on his face and put his middle finger up to reporters after his weight miss was read out.
The Chechen exited the scale and said "that's not bad" despite missing the welterweight mark by a considerable amount. Chimaev, who has also fought at middleweight, is one of the biggest 170lb fighters on the UFC roster and cuts a lot of weight to reach the limit.
It's not the first time Chimaev has experienced weight issues in the UFC, previously missing the welterweight mark for his fight with Li Jingliang at UFC 267 last October. Chimaev admitted he tried to cheat by holding the towel to make weight, but he was forced to weigh in again after weighed 171.5lb. The 28-year-old lost the extra weight and later returned to the scale, hitting the 171lb limit on his second attempt.
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Diaz is fighting for the first time since being outpointed by Leon Edwards last June. The 37-year-old is a former welterweight title challenger but has also competed at 155lb in the UFC. Diaz, who has been calling for his UFC exit since the beginning of this year, will be free to leave the promotion after his fight with Chimaev. The UFC veteran of 15 years has concerned fans by stating he doesn't want to fight Chimaev and he hasn't been training for the fight.
In the co-main event of UFC 279, former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson hit the welterweight mark with ease for his fight against Li Jingliang. Ferguson, who is looking to pick up his first UFC win in over three years, has lost his last three fights to Charles Oliveira, Beneil Dariush and Michael Chandler. Also on the card, a women's bantamweight fight between Irene Aldana and Macy Chiasson was changed to a 140lb catchweight fight after Chiasson struggled to make the 136lb limit.
