UFC 279 “Diaz vs Chimaev” + Weekly News Report
The last weekend in Paris was a night to remember. Great fights, and world-class stoppages. All French fighters came out victorious. Great debut for the promotion in the “City of Lights”!
The main event brawl between Tai Tuivasa and Ciryl Gane ended via stoppage victory for the former interim heavyweight world champion. Gane was brutally rocked in the second but then flattened his opponent in the third via fabulous punches. Dana even posted it on his own Instagram and awarded both fighters with an extra 50k.
TUIVASA DROPPED GANE 😱 #UFCParis pic.twitter.com/vjmofvYKud
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 3, 2022
Two respectable Performances of the Night went in the hands of Benoit Saint-Denis and Abusupiyan Magomedov, who dominated their opponents.
Magomedov floored Dustin Stoltzfus in the first minute of round 1 (19-second monster front kick knockout), while Benoit Saint-Denis thrilled the home crowd with destruction against Gabriel Miranda!
The French crowd erupted after this finish by Benoît Saint-Denis 🇫🇷 #UFCParis
(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/nLuXpfKNeg
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) September 3, 2022
Abus Magomedov flattened Dustin Stoltzfus in 19 seconds 😳 #UFCParis
(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/32iEzj7DA0
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) September 3, 2022
Finally, the PPV is coming. The promotion travels across the pond to T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, again for, well, let’s say non-favored UFC 279 pay-per-view between Khamzat Chimaev and Nate Diaz. The MMA community believes it is a huge mismatch. The co-main event brings, according to the MMA fans, another poteyyyyyyy bad matchup – Tony Ferguson vs Li Jingliang.
Image source: @UFCBrasil Twitter
Khamzat Chimaev is a freestyle wrestler with an amazing chin and excellent cardio. He showed his striking skills against Gilbert Burns, so he’s pretty much dangerous in every single aspect of the game. Yet, he’s meeting a 5-round specialist thanks to spending hours with the ropes, Nate Diaz. This is a tricky fight, Nate’s battles have only been stopped by the judges because of his excessive bleeding.
Prediction: fight starts round 4, or Khamzat to win
Chinese Sanda fighter Li Jingliang’s coming off a knockout victory against tough Muslim Salikhov, and he’ll be looking to extend his winning streak against Tony Ferguson. Tony took part in a competitive fight against Michael Chandler until he got caught with a front kick. Both guys are very strong, and this looks like Tony’s last chance to get back into title contention. One way or another, someone could get finished.
Prediction: the fight will not go the distance
Here is a look at the whole fight card, but last-minute picks and predictions are possible, so please check this link out too.
Main Card (ESPN+ PPV, 10 PM ET, 3 PM UK time)
Welterweight: Khamzat Chimaev (11-0-0) vs. Nate Diaz (20-13-0)
Welterweight: Jingliang Li (19-7-0) vs. Tony Ferguson (25-7-0)
Catchweight (180 pounds): Kevin Holland (23-7-0) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (16-2-0)
Bantamweight (135 pounds); Irene Aldana (13-6-0) vs. Macy Chiasson (8-2-0)
Light Heavyweight (205 pounds): Johnny Walker (18-7-0) vs. Ion Cutelaba (16-7-1)
Preliminary Card (ESPNews, ESPN+, UFC On Fight Pass, 8 PM ET, 1 PM UK time)
Featherweight: Hakeem Dawodu (13-2-1) vs. Julian Erosa (27-9-0)
Catchweight (220 pounds): Jailton Almeida (16-2-0) vs. Anton Turkalj (8-0-0)
Middleweight: Jamie Pickett (13-7-0) vs. Denis Tiuliulin (10-6-0)
Heavyweight: Jake Collier (13-7-0) vs. Chris Barnett (22-8-0)
Early Prelims (ESPN+, UFC On Fight Pass, 6 PM ET, 11 PM UK time)
Featherweight: Norma Dumont (7-2-0) vs. Danyelle Wolf (1-0-0)
Bantamweight: Chad Anheliger (12-5-0) vs. Heili Alateng (15-8-2)
Strawweight: Elise Reed (5-2-0) vs. Melissa Martinez (7-0-0)
Welterweight: Darian Weeks (5-2-0) vs. Yohan Lainesse (8-1-0)
Here are my predictions for the upcoming card.
Ladies and gentlemen, this event doesn’t look super-stacked on the piece of paper, but judging a book by its cover is so wrong! Give it a shot, sit next to your PC/TV on Saturday and you’ll enjoy it for sure! There might be some high-level battles on this card!
[…] was no Fight of the Award at the UFC 279 PPV event, but four Performance of the Night nods were well deserved. Four fighters earned an extra […]