UFC

The joyful rage with which Khamzat Chimaev dismantled Kevin Holland on Saturday at UFC 279 was truly a sight to behold.

The excitable Chimaev, who scuttled his main event with Nate Diaz after missing weight by more than seven pounds, controlled the co-main event from pillar to post, overwhelming a proven veteran with a first-round D'Arce choke submission. It was like watching a giant baby throw his toys around the room without realizing they were full-grown adults.

If that doesn't paint enough of a picture, consider the UFC statistics. In two minutes and 13 seconds of action, Holland failed to attempt, much less land, a single strike. That will happen when you spend all your time desperately trying to scramble out of a relentless barrage of submission attempts. Chimaev was in control for 1:56 of the contest, so all but 17 seconds. That's pretty stark.

Still, you have to see Chimaev to believe him—the way he sprints toward his opponent and upends him, dumping him on the mat so quickly and so forcefully and laying on punishment and working for submissions so rapidly and methodically that the opponent shuts down. The win put the 28-year-old Chechen-Swede at 12-0 overall and 6-0 in the UFC. The only UFC opponent to go the distance with Chimaev was Gilbert Burns earlier this year in that memorable Fight of the Night performance. Four opponents didn't make it past the first round.

Interestingly, that big weight miss might have opened the door to new competitive possibilities for Chimaev. The natural welterweight just competed at a 180-pound catchweight and destroyed a longtime middleweight in Holland. Chimaev has long had designs on being a dual champion, and this bit of serendipity could add fuel to the fire. Though he clarified after the fight that he would return to welterweight, where he is No. 3 in the official rankings, Chimaev reiterated his desire to make a run at 185 pounds, which seems closer to reality than ever.

"I'm going for both weight classes," Chimaev told broadcaster Joe Rogan after the fight, per MMA Fighting. "We'll go for both belts."

With possibilities in both weight classes and more momentum than perhaps any other fighter on the UFC roster, Chimaev is in a good position to call his shots. Here's a look at three possibilities that could work for his next engagement.

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Colby Covington

Covington has the wrestling and the gas tank to push Chimaev into the later rounds, where his white-hot fury tends to wane. He's also not above a brawl and could sucker the hyper-eager Chimaev into a mistake. It would also be interesting to see Chimaev attempt (or not attempt) to ply his wrestling pressure against a true wrestling standout in Covington.

Perhaps just as importantly, this is a bout between two polarizing figures. Covington is a full-throated supporter of MAGA nation, while Chimaev is prone to volatility (see: UFC 279 press conference, canceled after Chimaev helped instigate a backstage melee) and is a close friend and associate of oppressive Chechen politician, Vladimir Putin ally and MMA fan Ramzan Kadyrov. These aren't the kinds of things you'll see in a UFC promo, but a little heel-on-heel violence is always intriguing.

The problem: Covington doesn't have a ton of incentive to take this fight. Chimaev is younger and more explosive, and he would likely be installed as the favorite. Covington appears much more interested in catchweight showcases with bigger names, such as Dustin Poirier and middleweight champ Israel Adesanya. Neither of those seems particularly likely, but it gives you a sense of Covington's personal matchmaking head space. From that perspective, the more dangerous, less famous option probably doesn't get fast-tracked to the front of the queue.

I want Khamzat Chimaev vs. Colby Covington. I'm 90% sure that Covington wants nothing to do with Chimaev.

— Andreas Hale (@AndreasHale) September 11, 2022

Still, I'd love to see it, as would most of the MMA community.

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Gilbert Burns

Two words: re. match. As previously mentioned, Burns is the only fighter to give Chimaev a run for his money.

Chimaev took a 29-28 scorecard from all three judges but earned it after a Fight of the Year candidate with Burns. Between them, they landed 227 significant strikes (119-108 in Burns' favor), and Chimaev hit two of three takedowns and racked up more than two minutes of control time—no mean feat against a decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt like Burns. Still, Burns twice briefly dropped Chimaev in the second round and bloodied his nose in easily the most damage Chimaev had taken in the UFC. The fight ended with an incredibly close round that saw both fighters exhausted and fighting to the bottom of their gas tanks.

These two just left it ALL in the Octagon. What. A. Fight 🔥

[ #UFC273 | LIVE on @ESPNPlus PPV: https://t.co/KOluT78H6K ] pic.twitter.com/zTz9bbGVOf

— UFC (@ufc) April 10, 2022

Burns has frequently called for a rematch, so if nothing else, you have a willing opponent—a positive quality in and of itself when you're talking about Chimaev. One wrinkle: Burns apparently has agreed in principle to a bout with Jorge Masvidal, so his dance card may be full for the foreseeable future. But this one will always be on the table as an intriguing run-back.

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Paulo Costa

Holland was a middleweight for six years and was planning to fight Daniel Rodriguez at 180-pound catchweight even before he was slotted in against Chimaev. But he returned to welterweight earlier this year, again making it his default home.

In other words, even on his biggest days, no one is characterizing Kevin Holland as a big middleweight. If Chimaev really wants to test his mettle in the 185-pound division, he should jump into that with both feet. That means facing down the incredible hulk that is Paulo Costa.

It's a winnable fight for Chimaev, but Costa's size alone offers distinct challenges to his wrestling and overall approach. Chimaev will not be able to rag-doll Costa the way he did Holland.

But don't take it from me. Take it from Costa himself.

"I know [Chimaev] just want to fight small guys, short guys, shy guys like Burns," Costa told The Mac Life (h/t MMA Junkie). "Guys who you can beat and be a bully, but I'm not. I'm a big one, I'm the biggest middleweight in the UFC, so you cannot bully me. When you show up, I will be here, ready for you because you are a 'Gourmet Chechen,' you are a fake gangster, so that's it."

I know I'd tune in for this.

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Winner of Rematch Between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards

There's no question that, barring some misfortune, Usman-Edwards 3 will take place in the foreseeable future, likely at the end of this year or early next. UFC brass is pulling out all the stops to schedule a show in Edwards' native England.

It's fitting for a guy who just pulled out one of the greatest come-from-behind wins in UFC history, knocking out champ Kamaru Usman in the fifth and final round to take the welterweight title.

These guys have unfinished business. But no matter who wins, who else but Chimaev would receive the title shot? Covington, the only fighter outside of Edwards and Usman to sit higher than Chimaev on the rankings, would surely try to talk his way into a date with Edwards. But with all the talent and heat around Chimaev? It's not a hard call.

It would mean Chimaev has to sit on the shelf for a while—especially if Covington ducks him, and that would be another reason they wouldn't give Covington a title shot over Chimaev—and that may not be palatable. It's also no fun for fans to have such an electric talent healthy but on the bench for an extended period of time.

That's why, to me, Covington-Chimaev is the match to make. There would be plenty of ill will in the lead-up to the showdown, and it would pit two great wrestlers, both with proven experience under the bright lights, against each other. And then in the winner, you'd have your clear-cut, surefire challenger for the next belt. (In this instance, they might even give Covington one last shot at Usman, given that the previous two bouts were close.)

But it's anyone's guess, and the dust is still settling from a wild weekend in Las Vegas. Wherever Chimaev ends up next, he'll be appointment viewing for anyone who wants to witness next-level MMA—and, quite likely, a future champion.

While the UFC did not discipline any of the fighters for the backstage altercations that led to the cancellation of Thursday's UFC 279 news conference, the Nevada Athletic Commission could do so depending on the outcome of its investigation.

"The Nevada Athletic Commission will strictly discipline all licensees for all incidents of physical violence between athletes outside the ring or cage, up to and including purse forfeiture, revocation or suspension of any current license, denial of applications for new applicants, or denying future license renewals," NSAC chairman Stephen J. Cloobeck said in a statement, per Marc Raimondi of ESPN.

Raimondi described the chaos, which he noted began with a "near brawl between UFC fighters Khamzat Chimaev and Kevin Holland."

Chimaev approached Holland, words were exchanged, Holland pushed him away, and Chimaev landed a front kick before UFC fighter Li Jingliang attempted to break them up. MMA agent Tiki Ghosn was among those helping to break up the fight, and Nate Diaz and his group threw water bottles at him when they assumed he was with Chimaev.

UFC President Dana White canceled the news conference and told reporters: "I'm in very weird waters. This has never happened in the history of this company."

That was just the beginning of the strange occurrences, as Chimaev missed weight by 7.5 pounds. That forced a reshuffling of the fight card with Diaz facing Tony Ferguson, Holland and Chimaev squaring off, and Li meeting Daniel Rodriguez.

Diaz-Ferguson was the headliner, and the former put on a show while clinching a fourth-round submission victory at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

It may have been the last fight of Diaz's UFC career. If so, he went out with a statement.

Khamzat Chimaev didn't come close to making weight for his originally scheduled fight against Nate Diaz, but he apparently wanted to go head-to-head anyway.

Chimaev told UFC interviewer Megan Olivi that he offered to give Diaz his purse to have the UFC 279 main event to go on as scheduled.

“I could make that weight, so the doctor stopped that s--t. So yeah, what I could do now? I was waiting what UFC said to me. I said I wanna fight, so I gave all my money to [Diaz]. It was almost two million. So I said, 'Give all my money to that guy, let him fight.' If he is that gangster, he should fight for money. But he didn’t wanna fight me, you know? So, who’s the gangster now?”

Chimaev weighed in Friday at 178.5 pounds, seven pounds over the limit for his bout against Diaz. The Russian's inability—or unwillingness—to cut weight sent UFC 279 into a state of chaos, with Dana White shuffling three matches on the card to make things work. Chimaev wound up fighting Kevin Holland, while Diaz took on Tony Ferguson.

“You care about that s--t? I don’t care,” Chimaev told reporters when asked about criticism over his weight. “I care about my family. I care about my career. I care about my money. … One day they’re with me, one day they’re not with me.

“So, I’m real, guys. So, I like the people that are real. Not fake people going one way or going the other way.”

Both Diaz and Chimaev were victorious in their make-up fights.

Nate Diaz is exiting the UFC, but not before taking home one last performance bonus.

The veteran fighter won the Performance of the Night bonus for his fourth-round submission of Tony Ferguson in the main event of Saturday night's UFC 279, per Alexander K. Lee of MMA Fighting. That earned him $50,000 in bonus money.

It was the 16th bonus Diaz has earned for his performance in the Octagon. Only Donald Cerrone and Charles Oliveira, with 18 each, have earned more.

It concluded a wild week after Diaz's original opponent, Khamzat Chimaev, missed weight by 7.5 pounds. That left the UFC scrambling to salvage the card, eventually pairing Diaz with Ferguson and Chimaev with Kevin Holland, who he submitted in the first round

As for Diaz's next steps, his team said this week he was starting his own MMA promotion, Real Fight Inc.

"I wanna get out of the UFC for a minute, and show all of these UFC fighters how to take over, and own up another sport how you're supposed to do it," Diaz said in his post-fight interview. "Because Conor McGregor didn't know how to do it, and none of these other fighters know how to do it. So I'm gonna go out there, take over another profession and become the best at that, show everybody I'm the best at that. And then I'm gonna be right the f--k back here to get a motherf--king UFC title, the best title in the world."

Nate Diaz sounds off to close out #UFC279! pic.twitter.com/S6eGlB77lM

— UFC (@ufc) September 11, 2022

The 37-year-old Diaz is one of the UFC's most popular fighters and has beaten some of the promotion's biggest names, including Donald Cerrone, McGregor—they split their two meetings—and Anthony Pettis. He also went into the Octagon against big names like Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards, though he lost those matchups.

As for UFC fighters who took their talents elsewhere, McGregor flirted with boxing, losing to Floyd Mayweather, while Brock Lesnar had his on-again, off-again relationship with the WWE. It remains to be seen what Diaz's next chapter holds, but his time in the UFC may not be completely over just yet.

Nate Diaz said after Saturday's win over Tony Ferguson he wants to conquer another sport before returning to UFC, via ESPN's Ariel Helwani.

Nate Diaz sounds off to close out #UFC279! pic.twitter.com/S6eGlB77lM

— UFC (@ufc) September 11, 2022

The 37-year-old explained his plans to Joe Rogan in the post-fight interview, via Damon Martin of MMA Fighting:

I want to get out of the UFC for a minute and show all these UFC fighters how to take over and own up another sport how you're supposed to do it. Cause Conor McGregor didn't know how to do it. None of these other fighters know how to do it. So I'm going to go out there and I'm going take over another profession and become the best at that.

The win at UFC 279 was the first for Diaz since 2019, having lost to Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards in this span.

Diaz was initially supposed to face Khamzat Chimaev on Saturday, but the opponent missed weight and UFC was forced to reshuffle the card. The original match was considered "punishment" by Diaz, who admitted he didn't want the bout, via ESPN's Marc Raimondi.

"I've gotta just go in there and fight him for you real quick," Diaz said. "I'm unmotivated for that."

The veteran can now be released from his contract, providing a chance to potentially move into boxing.

Jake Paul indicated Diaz could be his next opponent in a tweet after Saturday's fight:

Nate Diaz says he’s going into the sport of boxing. pic.twitter.com/wZoKkDbN2s

— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) September 11, 2022

Paul is set to fight former MMA star Anderson Silva after already beating Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren.

Conor McGregor also attempted a transition to boxing but lost to Floyd Mayweather.

Diaz believes he can do better than the others in a new sport.

Not surprised, motherf--kers? Admit it: you were at least a little surprised.

You were at least a little surprised when Khamzat Chimaev missed the 170-pound weight limit Friday by the size of a child’s bowling ball. The frenetic game of musical chairs it set off saw Chimaev exit the main event, only to witness the creation of a better contest by his absence—two action-fighting veterans would now square off, with Tony Ferguson stepping in to face the inimitable Nate Diaz.

And if that didn’t surprise you, how about 24 hours later, when Diaz brandished a guillotine choke of Ferguson in the fourth round? That was at least a mildly surprising outcome, if the oddsmakers are any barometer.

But here’s one thing that should never surprise you when it comes to Nate Diaz: He knows how to play this fight game, and when the lights went dim at the end of UFC 279 Saturday in Las Vegas, he was the last player standing.

Having just completed the last fight on his UFC contract, in his post-fight speech Diaz essentially declared it open bidding season for his services. That goes for a long-anticipated foray into boxing, but didn't end there either.

“I’m just gonna show everybody how to own another sport,” Diaz told longtime UFC broadcaster and podcaster Joe Rogan after the fight. “All the motherf--kers out there trying to run the other sports—boxing, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, other MMA organizations—crème de la crème right here. I’m coming for you.”

We’ll unpack that more in a second, but first his win over Ferguson. As many observers noted, it’s a little sad and downright strange that this fight didn’t happen years ago. At 37 and 38 years of age, respectively, and with plenty of bouts on each ledger, Diaz and Ferguson are still plenty frisky but no longer at the peaks of their primes. No matter, the bright lights were on and there was money to be made, and in the case of Diaz, a much better shot at winning than he had against the terrifying Chimaev. (All Chimaev did was rag-doll Kevin Holland into submission inside a round in the evening's co-main event.)

“I was here to get my job done,” Diaz told Rogan. “I had one fight left, and I told them after not letting me have fights forever to just give me anyone you’ve got. I got a worthy OG, a great representative of mixed martial arts.”

Both early rounds were close, with the first being a feel-out affair that Diaz barely took on volume: 22-19 in significant strikes, per UFC stats. The second round was also close, with Ferguson bleeding around his eye by round’s end.

The third round was all Ferguson, and it looked for a moment as if El Cucuy might carry the day. At roughly 4:10 of the round, Diaz took another in a barrage of leg kicks—42 percent of Ferguson's significant strikes went to the legs—and wobbled and visibly winced. He then walked in a slow circle around the cage. It was clear Ferguson’s leg kicks—hard things that pitted bone on bone—were having their effect, including on Ferguson, who suffered from a gash on his own left shin. The damage was piling up, and Ferguson wasn’t letting off the pressure.

The momentum was not in Diaz’s favor when the championship rounds began. There were solid exchanges, with Diaz again retaking momentum by landing flurries as he chased Ferguson around the Octagon. Ferguson, perhaps reeling a bit, went for a double-leg takedown. But Diaz was ready and caught Ferguson’s head in a choke attempt. It wasn’t long before the guillotine was locked in, and Ferguson was forced to tap.

Nate Diaz went from staring down the barrel of a Khamzat Chimaev fight to submitting Tony Ferguson in the main event of his final UFC fight.

The MMA Gods love Nate Diaz...tonight, at least.

— Luke Thomas🏋️‍♀️ (@lthomasnews) September 11, 2022

Afterward, Diaz was surprisingly magnanimous toward the UFC, a company he has previously urinated on.

“All I know is there’s been a love-hate relationship with me and the UFC the whole time I’ve been in this f--kin’ organization,” Diaz said to Rogan in an understatement. “At the end of the day, I love the UFC. Shout out to Dana White and [UFC Chief Business Officer] Hunter Campbell for giving us the platform. I feel like I’ve had the longest career in the UFC, and I’ve had the most successful one.”

But after giving his employer their flowers, he then turned to new pastures.

“I want to get out of the UFC for a minute to show all these UFC fighters how to take over another sport, how you’re supposed to do it,” Diaz said. “Conor McGregor didn’t know how to do it. I’m going to go out to another profession and I’m going to go out there and take over that, show everybody I’m the best at that, then I’m going to get right the f--k back in here and get a UFC title.”

So, what will Diaz do now? That, as they say, is the million-dollar question.

Surely Bellator and Professional Fighters League will make overtures—that $1 million PFL championship format might be alluring—but for all its long-running and well-documented issues on fighter pay, no other MMA show will be able to offer a fighter like Diaz anywhere near the return on investment that the UFC can provide. Remember: these are shows without regular pay-per-views. It might make sense in many cases. It doesn’t with Diaz. The ceiling of MMA is still rather low.

I can’t see Diaz seriously trying kickboxing, but jiu-jitsu could be a possibility. If competitive bucket-listing is now the name of the game for team Diaz, wouldn’t it be hard to resist the narrative bookend of jiu-jitsu? After all, that’s what started it all for Nate and older brother Nick. Any grappling show would sell their grandmother's dog to get Nate Diaz under its banner. Would it surprise you to see him go this way? He’s done surprising things before.

And though he doesn’t need the money, boxing is where the money is, and it’s where he’s talked about going for quite a while now. In fact, recently he’s been flirting with celebrity-boxing luminary Jake Paul. In the business world, they call that a license to print money. No surprise in the world if he takes this. (Though I'd be less surprised to see Paul find a reason not to move forward.)

Further, Diaz and the aforementioned McGregor still have unfinished business, and they both know this. There's nothing saying their trilogy fight has to a) happen in the UFC or b) be an MMA fight.

Congrats Nate Diaz on making it to the end of his contractual obligations with the UFC, and as a bonafide superstar goer. An incredible feat. Fair play.
Our trilogy will happen.

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) September 10, 2022

If that wasn’t enough, he also purportedly has a promotion of his own, Real Fight, Inc., in the works. Diaz has previously said this could focus on combat sports outside of MMA, so his post-fight callouts could be in relation to this. It's not just a fly-by-night thing either. Not only has he applied for a promotor's license, there are also hats.

A message to 🇨🇦 and @Drake from @NateDiaz209 pic.twitter.com/CXQsj6lH08

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) September 11, 2022

This is a man with irons in the fire. This is also a man with a golden horseshoe lodged somewhere inside that triathlon-sharpened personage. If Chimaev hadn’t missed weight by such an egregious amount, Diaz would almost certainly have been on the business end of a one-sided beating Saturday night. Instead, he won a two-way action fight that ended with his open pitch to the entire freaking world of combat sports.

Sometimes, it’s good to be Nate Diaz. But that shouldn’t come as a surprise.