After arguably the most chaotic fight week in company history, the final card for UFC 279: Diaz vs. Ferguson is finally locked in, and we are all set for blastoff.
The new main event will feature Nate Diaz taking on Tony Ferguson in a five-round main event. The headliner was originally set to be Khamzat Chimaev vs. Diaz, but after Chimaev missed weight by a whopping 7.5 pounds, last-minute changes were in order.
Chimaev will now face Kevin Holland in the co-main event; and Holland’s original opponent, Daniel Rodriguez, will face Ferguson’s original opponent, Li Jingliang.
MMA News has you covered with the current odds for these new matchups as well as the final faceoffs and a snapshot preview of the entire card, which you can find down below! You can also catch the full, uncut ceremonial weigh-in here.
Darian Weeks (-116) vs. Yohan Lainesse (-104)
Darian Weeks and Yohan Lainesse have both arranged to graduate on to the UFC winners club when they try to pick up their first promotional victory to open up UFC 279. At the moment, the fighters are a combined 0-3 in the UFC. But as they say, someone’s 0 has got to go. Which one will pack their bags on their way out of their introductory pit of despair?
Elise Reed (+150) vs. Melissa Rodriguez (-175)
The undefeated Melissa Rodriguez is brimming with potential as she puts her 7-0 record on the line against Elise Reed, who will enter with a 1-2 UFC record. Reed will come to T-Mobile Arena with the intention of rising above the dark waters while Rodriguez will try to remain unbeaten with the eyes on the world cast down on her.
Alateng Heili (-152) vs. Chad Anheliger (+132)
Chad Anheliger will be putting his monster nine-fight winning streak on the line when he takes on Alateng Heili in the early prelims. Anheliger made his successful UFC debut in February with a TKO victory over Jesse Strader.
Now, he will continue on the next step on the thousand-mile trek toward the rankings by facing five-fight UFC veteran Alateng Heili. Heili will also be trying to stick to the winning side after TKOing Kevin Croom in his most recent outing in April.
Norma Dumont (-425) vs. Danyelle Wolf (+325)
Former UFC headliner Norma Dumont will compete in the featured early prelim bout against hot crossover prospect Danyelle Wolf. Wolf won her pro MMA debut on Dana White’s Contender Series almost exactly two years to the day this fight will take place.
The former US National Boxing champion will have her hands full in Dumont, who holds wins over proven competitors Felicia Spencer, Ashlee Evans-Smith, and Aspen Ladd.
Jake Collier (-450) vs. Chris Barnett (+350)
Chris Barnett will arrive to the Octagon in pursuit of another entry on his extensive knockouts list. 17 of Barnett’s 22 wins have come by KO, including his viral spinning-wheel kick victory over Gian Villante last November.
Barnett will be facing Collier, who is coming off a loss but has never lost back-to-back fights across his eight years and 11 fights inside the Octagon. Collier is currently a very large favorite at -450.
Jamie Pickett (-128) vs. Denis Tiuliulin (+108)
In one of the most competitive fights on the card odds-wise, Jamie Pickett returns for his fifth Octagon appearance. The “Night Wolf” will try to bounce back from his loss to Kyle Daukaus last February. Awaiting him will be Denis Tiuliulin, who will be making his UFC debut at 9-6, with all but one win coming by knockout.
Anton Turkalj (+500) vs. Jailton Almeida (-700)
Jailton Almeida will enter his bout against Anton Turkalj high on confidence as a result of an 11-fight winning streak, including a successful UFC debut over Parker Porter. All 16 of Almeida’s wins have been finishes, 10 of which coming by submission.
In Turkalj, Almeida will face a young, undefeated, and very exciting prospect looking to steal the show and break a lot of parlays in the process.
Hakeem Dawodu (-231) vs. Julian Erosa (+196)
This featured preliminary bout has all the makings of a potential Fight of the Night. Dawodu has won six of his last seven fights, with the sole loss coming against undefeated prospect Movsar Evloev.
Erosa is on a similar run, having won five of his last six fights, including a Fight of the Night win over Steven Peterson. A win for either man could draw them closer to getting a “yes” from the UFC rankings panel.
Johnny Walker (+185) vs. Ion Cutelaba (-220)
Cutelaba has won one fight out of his last five while Walker, with Walker having that exact same run. Still, the odds favor Cutelaba, perhaps because or in spite of the fact that Walker has dialed back his cartoon-influenced style a bit as of late for a more conservative approach.
Meanwhile, with Cutelaba, the world knows what to expect: a raging hulk pressing forward relentlessly until nothing is left of his foe but pieces.
Irene Aldana (-170) vs. Macy Chiasson (+145)
#4-ranked Aldana has made it clear that she does not care if she is fighting the #1 contender or the #15 contender. In fighting #10-ranked Chiasson, she is backing that up.
Both women have won three of their last four fights and are coming off wins, with Aldana coming in as the slim favorite to emerge victorious Saturday night.
Li Jingliang (+130) vs Daniel Rodriguez (-150)
Daniel Rodriguez will enter his new fight against Li Jingliang as the slim favorite, perhaps due to the 8-pound weight advantage he had at the time of the weigh-ins. Jingliang deserves massive praise for accepting this fight despite the weight discrepancy, especially considering the fact that he is ranked (#14) while Rodriguez is unranked.
Get your first look at this new pairing down below.
Khamzat Chimaev (-600) vs. Kevin Holland (+425)
It is almost as if the MMA gods intervened to create the following co-main and main events. In this case, Chimaev and Holland have a history dating back to 2020 when Holland first expressed interest in facing the much-hyped Borz. He even volunteered to face Chimaev on short notice after Leon Edwards pulled out of their initial fight. Two years later, it’s a short-notice bout against the Borz he shall have.
Then last year, there was reportedly a physical altercation between Chimaev and Holland. That animosity returned to the surface this week when Holland called Chimaev “fake” for only being rambunctious when the cameras are on.
The story took a sharp turn when Chimaev and Holland were involved in another backstage altercation yesterday. And finally, the stars aligned to make this fight a reality in a sanctioned environment after Chimaev missed weight this morning.
And that brings us here, to the highly charged face-off found below.
Nate Diaz (+115) vs. Tony Ferguson (-135)
If you ask any long-time MMA fan, they will tell you that one of the biggest dream matchups you could have for Nate Diaz is none other than Tony Ferguson. In fact, if you were to ask who the ideal opponent for Nate Diaz’s final UFC-contracted bout would be, Ferguson would in all likelihood crack the top 3-5 names on the list.
And in the second act of the MMA gods for UFC 279, against all odds, and after both Diaz and Ferguson had requested this fight earlier in the year, it is now a reality.
You can view the final faceoff of the night, featuring one of MMA’s biggest dream matchups, down below.
Be sure to keep it locked right here for full coverage of UFC 279: Diaz vs. Ferguson throughout fight night!