Dana White has revealed why Khamzat Chimaev missed weight for his fight against Nate Diaz at UFC 279, after the star had to be replaced in the main event.
On Friday night, the UFC 279 card was looking in all sorts of problem after Chimaev weighed in at 178.5 lbs, well over the 170 lbs limit for welterweight.
There was no way the undefeated Swedish fighter was going to be able to lose the weight required in the hour after his first and final chance to weigh in.
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That meant he had to be removed from his highly anticipated fight with Diaz, the last one on the Stockton brawler's contract with the UFC.
Fans were left annoyed at the fact that the 28-year-old had ruined a hotly anticipated fight but White has now explained that the missed weight was due to doctor's orders.
"If you saw him yesterday, he was very lean already and he should have come in on weight," the UFC president explained on ESPN.
"He started to cut weight and he started locking up and cramping and all the things that are from a bad cut. Unlike 10 years ago, we send in a doctor and they determine whether he will keep cutting weight and the doctor told him he shouldn't."
That description of events was made official by the promotion's statement, which read, "Due to recommendation from the UFC medical team, Khamzat Chimaev was advised to stop cutting weight due to weight management issues."
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Chimaev's missed weight, and missed opportunity at Diaz, could delay his opportunity to fight for the welterweight title, which he'd have been expected to do soon.
That opportunity might have had to wait any way, after Leon Edwards shocked the world to beat Kamaru Usman last month, with the Nigerian Nightmare almost certainly set for a rematch before anyone else gets a title shot.
Before the official announcement about the reason he was missing out, the Swede had taken to Twitter to jokingly blame stablemate Darren Till for getting him fat.
Fortunately however, the excitement around the fight card was saved somewhat, with White able to make a last minute shake up to things.
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UFC icon Tony Ferguson was billed to take on Li Jingliang in Saturday night's co-main event but the former interim lightweight champion will now go up against Diaz instead.
Chimaev doesn't miss out completely either, as he'll fight 2020's MVP Kevin Holland at a catchweight, and the man who was supposed to take on Holland, Daniel Rodriguez, will face Jingliang, meaning no one misses out on a pay day.
Topics: UFC, MMA, Khamzat Chimaev, Nate Diaz, Tony Ferguson, Dana White
Ryan Sidle