Khamzat Chimaev has missed weight by 7.5 lbs, throwing his UFC 279 fight with Nate Diaz on Saturday night into jeopardy.
Chimaev needed to weigh-in at no more than 171 lbs for his welterweight fight with Diaz in Las Vegas, but he stepped on the scale at 178.5 lbs. It is understood that Diaz and Chimaev are both to be handed new opponents.
Before the grappler headed to the weigh-in, reports indicated that Chimaev was struggling to make the weight with MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani stating he was almost 10lb over the limit.
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The Chechen told former two-weight UFC champion turned analyst Daniel Cormier he weighed 187 lbs on Wednesday, meaning he had to cut 16 lbs in just two days to make the welterweight limit. Chimaev, who has also fought at middleweight, is one of the biggest 170 lbs fighters on the UFC roster and cuts a lot of weight to reach the limit.
Chimaev weighed 170 lbs on his first attempt for his fight with Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 in April, of which he went on to win by decision. Last October, he missed weight by half a pound for his fight with Li Jingliang at UFC 267. Chimaev admitted he tried to cheat by holding the towel to make weight, but he was forced to weigh in again and successfully hit 171 lbs mark on his second attempt.
Diaz weighed in at 171 lbs for the fight, which is his first since being outpointed by Leon Edwards last June. The 37-year-old is a former welterweight title challenger but has also competed at 155 lbs 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.
In the co-main event, former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson hit the welterweight mark with ease for his fight against Li Jingliang. Ferguson is looking to pick up his first UFC win in over three years, losing 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 136 lbs limit.
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