Why Did Dana White Cancel the Press Conference for UFC 279? Here’s Everything You Need to Know!
UFC 279 takes place this weekend as Nate Diaz takes on Khamzat Chimaev in what will most likely be his last fight in the UFC. The younger Diaz brother is on the last fight of his contract and has not expressed any interest in continuing with the UFC. As is the tradition always, the UFC organized a pre-fight press conference with all the fighters involved in the upcoming PPV event. Unfortunately, UFC president Dana White had to cancel the press conference for the first time in UFC history due to events that occurred backstage.
Prominent MMA journalist Ariel Helwani shared exactly what happened backstage that led to Dana White canceling the press conference. According to Helwani, the fighters were waiting backstage for the press conference to start.
At this point, Kevin Holland started exchanging a few words with Khamzat Chimaev, who was present there with his team. The war of words reached a point where both men started getting physical with each other.
Dana White describes the "complete s*** show" backstage that led to the #UFC279 press conference being cancelled.
White confirms that an altercation between Khamzat Chimaev and Kevin Holland kicked it off. pic.twitter.com/UaG7AcC9k2
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) September 9, 2022
While neither fighter threw punches or kicks, it did get physical. Then Nate Diaz enters with his team and then Diaz and his team take a go at Chimaev and his team, which reaches a point where water bottles were being thrown around. Once everyone was separated, White decided to cancel the press conference.
Dana White vows to improve security to prevent such an incident in the future
The younger Diaz brother is a massive underdog in this fight. Almost no one expects him to win against a younger, stronger and much hungrier Khamzat Chimaev. In a recent interview with Brett Okamoto, Diaz stated that he did not want to fight Chimaev, but since it was his only way out of his UFC contract, he was forced to accept this fight.
Tensions between Kevin Holland and Chimaev's team continued in the lobby after the press conference, followed by a friendly cameo from Holland's opponent Daniel Rodriguez.
📹 via IG/chrisslowens pic.twitter.com/ilyL2DGY4n
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) September 9, 2022
#UFC279 Brawl. There you go guys pic.twitter.com/ObNSYaukwp
— Ghost (@TheCoprseBride) September 9, 2022
Diaz also said that he would be starting his own MMA promotion and spending time on other business ventures once he is done with the UFC. If Diaz is able to pull off a win, it will be one of the biggest if not the biggest upset in the history of the sport and it will severely damage Chimaev’s reputation as the ‘next best thing’ in the UFC.
Nate Diaz net worth, career earnings and UFC legend’s MMA record ahead of UFC 279
Khamzat Chimaev Net Worth, Career Earnings and UFC Welterweight star’s MMA record ahead of UFC 279
