It has been an interesting day in the UFC.
Nate Diaz was set to fight Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of UFC 279 on Saturday night.
That fight is no longer happening.
The fight was billed as a 170-pound welterweight fight. Chimaev stepped on the scale on Friday weighing 178.5 pounds. With the one-pound buffer, that means Chimaev missed weight by 7.5 pounds, which is almost unheard of in the UFC.
It was expected to be Diaz's last fight in the UFC as the 37-year-old has only one fight left on his contract and is expected to move on from the UFC once his contract was up.
The UFC has scrambled to save their big fight night.
Tony Ferguson was already on the fight card, set to fight Li Jingliang in the co-main event. But the UFC has moved Ferguson to the pay-per-view main event to fight Diaz.
Diaz was a massive underdog at +650 against Chimaev. Diaz vs. Ferguson is expected to be a much closer fight.
The fight has opened as a virtual pick 'em on FanDuel. Diaz and Ferguson were both -113 to win the bout
Ferguson, though, was a significant underdog in the original fight vs. Jingliang at +235 on DraftKings.
Chimaev has remained on the card and will fight Kevin Holland in the new co-main event. Chimaev opened as a big -400 favorite over +300 Holland.
Jingliang also has a new opponent in Daniel Rodriguez, who originally was slated to fight Holland in a 180-pound catchweight fight at UFC 279. Rodriguez is a -150 favorite over Jingliang, who originally was expected to fight Ferguson in a 170-pound fight. Jingliang is now a +122 underdog to Rodriguez.
If you had previously placed a bet on one of the canceled fights, that bet will go down as void and you should receive your money back.
New UFC 279 Main Card
*Odds courtesy of FanDuel
Nate Diaz (+102) vs. Tony Ferguson (-130)
Khamzat Chimaev (-520) vs. Kevin Holland (+350)
Yi Jingliang (+130) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (-160)
Irene Aldana (-178) vs. Macy Chiasson (+144)
Ion Cutelba (-188) vs. Johnny Walker (+152)
