UFC 279. What a weird card. Today, we are going to talk about it. Normally Before and Aftermath are for a technical analysis on the fights we all watch. But with how odd UFC 279 was I don’t think that’s warranted. Today, we are going to talk about the card in it’s entirety. Let’s begin.
Nate Diaz and Tony Ferguson: Probably didn’t train
Now before you jump down my throat, I know Nate Diaz and Tony Ferguson are always active fighters. They run, cross train other sports, and compete in their own gyms. What I mean about that header is that the two didn’t even train for this fight specifically. I know the last minute change happened but even before then, there’s no way that the two cardio machines we knew from the early 2010’s were the same fighters as last night.
Diaz even said in his pre-fight press conference that he didn’t train for Khamzat. It showed. He was tired, breathing out his mouth, sloppy looking, and all around the fight between he and Tony looked like a regional fight. That’s nothing we should see out of two fighters who have been at the top for so long. Nate Diaz putting his hands on his knees might have been funny but it was not a joke. He was tired. Plain and simple.
Tony Ferguson is about as shot as a fighter has ever been. Justin Gaethje broke him. At the start of the pandemic two years ago, Ferguson was limping away like a beat dog trying to save it’s life from a wolf. Ferguson said he’s back. He’s not. He never will be.
Khamzat Chimaev: From Darling to Damned
UFC 279 was not kind to Khamzat Chimaev. From getting into it with Paulo Costa (a great fight to book, by the way) and the back stage brawl with Kevin Holland that got the press conference canceled, fans have about faced on Chimaev and he’s full blown heel now.
Chimaev is the one who caused all the mixup that made this week’s Beforemath article pointless. He caused the round robin of fights getting changed and missed weight by a whopping seven and a half pounds.
His new opponent was Kevin Holland who is allergic to wrestling. Even so, Holland was the victim of a fake glove touch (tool move) and was subsequently choked out. Chimaev showed his true colors this week and they were dull and ugly. One can only hope he gets booked against Colby Covington or Paulo Costa who both (hopefully) get him a big heaping helping of humble pie.
Other UFC 279 tidbits
Outside of the three fights that received a shuffle at UFC 279, there were some great tidbit that happened. First, Irene Aldana is one of the few women’s fighters that are actually fun. She has decent hands, punches straight, and is quite scrambly. What will be most remembered from her fight with Macy Chaisson will be the finish. After winning a round and getting mauled in the second, Aldana was taken down and managed to land an uptick to the liver that shut Chaisson down. Odd win but cool none the less.
Johnny Walker and Ion Cutelaba was weird but fun in a way you wouldn’t expect from these two fighters. Cutelaba (smartly) went to the ground only to get choked out by CBD-less Johnny Walker. Wild finish.
Lastly, Chris Barnett was beat bad by Jake Collier only to gas and get ground and pounded by Barnett. Barnett’s wife recently passed and it was good to see him get a win despite all the terrible things that happened to him.
Anyhow, I’m sorry for the lack of technical analysis on this card but it honestly wasn’t the most fun fight in the main or co-main event. I generally like to provide something to learn in these fights and didn’t get the opportunity to do so.
To make up for that, check out my video on YouTube about Mike Tyson and Buster Mathis Jr. below! Don’t forget to tune in this Wednesday as we break down Cory Sandhagen and Song Yadong’s upcoming fight next week!