Nate Diaz DEFEATS Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 before teasing a box switch (2023)

Nate Diaz leaves the UFC with a record of 21-13 and has enough stock to try whatever he wants. It looks like a boxing match with Jake Paul that will earn him a ton of money is the obvious route to take and the loyal fan base he's amassed won't blame him for it.

Thank you for joining us tonight at another exciting UFC pay-per-view!

Four fighters secured an additional $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus after the UFC announced that Nate Diaz, Johnny Walker, Irene Aldana and Jailton Almeida took home an extra piece of change.

However, nothing for the management of Khamzat Chimaev's men...

Fair play for Nate Diaz. He started the week as a huge underdog against Khamzat Chimaev and ended it with a big submission win over a big name and goes into the subset with his high value.

Most of us realize that the fight with Chimaev would have gone very differently, but many aren't upset that we didn't get to see the outcome for ourselves when Diaz got his moment.

UFC Hall of Fame pure and simple.

'Nate Diaz says he wants to get into boxing... I wonder who he should fight?'

It's almost like Paul knew what Diaz was going to say...huh?

“I want to step out of the UFC for a while and show all these UFC fighters how to take over and own another sport like you should. Because Conor McGregor didn't know how to do it and none of these other fighters can do it, so I'm going to leave and take another profession and become the best at it. Show everyone that I'm the best at it.

'Boxing, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, other MMA organizations... If you think you're the best, the crème de la crème right here, baby. I'm speaking for you.

Nate Diaz leaves the UFC with victory over Tony Ferguson and it was his first submission since Conor McGregor's choke in 2016! Diaz grew bigger as the fight wore on and when his hands started to flow, Ferguson couldn't handle it. The guillotine choke came when Ferguson was looking for a way out of the cage.

To be fair, Ferguson seemed delighted with Diaz after his defeat. Much respect between the couple.

Diaz openly screamed as Ferguson kicked him in the right leg. He couldn't move right afterwards and the fight took a real turn. Prior to the re-enactment, Diaz walked outside the cage refusing to participate and Ferguson briefly lay down inviting the UFC legend to join him.

Diaz would take a second to breathe against the cage before trotting and locking with Ferguson once more. Diaz is clearly frustrated with what happened to his leg, but is showing a lot of courage to keep going.

Diaz landed more than twice as many head shots as Ferguson with 55, but Ferguson tripled Diaz's leg work with 25 strikes.

Ferguson got the upper hand in the opening minutes of the second round and a pair of right hands at the end of his wild combinations got past Diaz's guard.

In the second half of the round, Diaz has become more active and Ferguson's right eye is now bleeding profusely. Diaz is capitalizing on success with the one straight two that sees his left go straight up the middle. Ferguson still needs to adjust to avoid that.

Although this fight started with a lot of respect, things got a little complicated towards the end of the round. Ferguson is torn, but in activity, he probably took the round.

Both men showed exactly how this competition is going to play out. Ferguson delivered a great spinning elbow into the first gates and pushed Diaz down as a front kick was telegraphed, giving him a safe start.

It didn't take long for the first man to bleed. Ferguson's shin is dripping with blood and it looks like Diaz has controlled a kick to the leg.

Diaz landed with a nice left hand that made even Ferguson throw a punch in thanks.

Ferguson was more active throughout, but Diaz had the standouts and that will likely get him into the round with the judges.

Two of the most beloved UFC fighters today face each other in the main event. Tony Ferguson was the most feared man at lightweight for years, but after four straight fights he makes his welterweight debut against departing Nate Diaz and will enjoy his last dance with the company unless he signs a new contract. in the future. 🇧🇷

If there is no blood in this fight, it will be a small miracle.

Chimaev on weight: 'I don't give a shit about it brah'

Rogan pushes Chimaev at weight if he wants to hit 170 pounds. 'I was supposed to gain weight, but the doctor told me not to.' She says the doctor told her to stop losing weight.

He ends by saying 'I'm Mike Tyson, I'm Muhammad Ali - Woooo!'

No matter what Kevin Holland did to escape, and he is an accomplished fighter in many ways, he was left defenseless when Chimaev took his hooks.

Chimaev showed the Netherlands respect after securing victory. He ended up hugging his opponent on the ground.

Chimaev says: 'Say something now! Of something!' for Las Vegas audiences. I will kill them all!

Here we go! Undefeated sensation Khamzat Chimaev is facing Kevin Holland instead of Nate Diaz, thanks to being seven pounds over his weight limit. The arguments these two had before the press conference added some bad blood to this case and fireworks aren't just expected, they're necessary.

A five-round co-main event is coming!

29-28, 28-29, 29-28 for D-Rod. The crowd did not like the result very much! But Rodríguez says he feels he performed better at this weight and the result says so.

"I feel like I had to come in and steal the fight," Rodriguez said of the final round.

Daniel Cormier expressed his surprise at the result. A split decision either way was likely.

Rodriguez landed a very polite jab, but it failed to generate any more matches for the American. Jingliang was much more active with left-hander Rodríguez waiting for his opportunities. However, Rodríguez landed a significant 78 shots to Jingliang's 74 with a minute left in the match.

The crowd booed this contest in parts and one wonders if this was due to Rodriguez's sporadic activity. With a day's notice, this was a tricky affair for the two, but the crowd expected more. The scorecards will be interesting, Jingliang's activity can win the day.

Rodriguez is hitting more to the head than The Leech, but Jingliang has thrown four times as many body shots and landed 15 leg shots to Rodriguez's eight. A very intriguing incredible battle is unfolding.

Jingliang's sharpness and speed pose an issue for Rodriguez, but unsurprisingly, the California native is incredibly good. He will stay in front of Jingliang all night.

The round ended with Rodriguez going in for a head kick and Jingliang knocking him down, but the buzzer saved the American from further damage.

Apologies, Jingliang was destined to face Ferguson and Rodriguez was destined to face Holland! Confusion would catch up with us sooner or later.

Action in progress in a matter of minutes!

Originally, Daniel Rodriguez would face Tony Ferguson at welterweight and Li Jingliang would face Kevin Holland. It's fair to say that both men gained low-key opponents as a result of the trade, but both men also have a lot to gain from a victory.

Rodriguez walking towards 2Pac and Dr. Dre - California Love. 10-9 round already to be fair.

Chiasson threw more strikes to start the third round with everything on the line, but landed very little until he landed a right hand after two minutes. He followed this up with a massive takedown that turned the tables in Chiasson's favor.

Once they broke, Aldana landed a kick to the liver as Chiasson pulled away and instantly closed the body and had to be disallowed by the referee.

Chiasson would likely win the fight until that kick. A sensational and creative finish!

Chiasson started the round aggressively, but Aldana managed to take him down and tried a leg lock. Most of us suspected an end was in the offing for the Mexican, but Chiasson managed to reverse his position and proceeded to land dozens of ferocious elbow strikes while grabbing his opponent's back.

The body triangle meant Aldana couldn't go anywhere and a long period of pressure was just what Chiasson needed to defend the win. But those elbows looked like they could end the fight. What a change! Big round for Macy.

Chiasson tried to use his length early on and hit from distance but when that didn't work he grabbed Aldana and chased her around the cage trying to take down. That didn't work either.

Big Mexico's chants in Las Vegas earned a cheeky smile from Aldana and the game's first right-hand flush with 90 seconds to go should have done the same. Chiasson rode the strike and was on his bike trying to see the turn but it DIDN'T happen.

Aldana managed to take down Chiasson and looked to have a brutal arm. The announcers are wondering if Chiasson tapped out or not and it's notable that the fight isn't over yet, to be honest. In the second round we go.

Aldana is the bookies' favorite for this fight, but Chiasson is two inches tall and three inches ahead of her opponent. She is also 9-2, but Aldana has been there with heavy hitters like Holly Holm and Bethe Correia.

Aldana is fourth in the bantamweight rankings, while Chiasson is tenth.

Walker attempted an early kick to the head and Cutelaba converted it into a takedown to put the Brazilian on immediate defense.

Walker finally managed a takedown and, after minutes of work, finally managed to land Cutelaba's chin and, despite the Romanian's best efforts, had no choice but to tap out.

'Walker said: I need a bonus my friends, come on! I finished!

Johnny Walker was one of the brightest and most emerging prospects of all time, but four defeats in the last five really stopped his momentum.

Cutelaba also has just one win in his last five fights and could be the perfect counterpoint for the Brazilian to win again, or fall out of the light heavyweight ranks. Walker is two inches taller than the Romanian and has a huge reach advantage.

Conor McGregor, the biggest box office sensation to ever compete in MMA, saw two of his best-selling pay-per-views against Nate Diaz in 2016.

Before Diaz v Ferguson, McGregor couldn't stop praising his archrival.

"Congratulations to Nate Diaz on reaching the end of his contractual obligations with the UFC and as a bona fide superstar," he wrote on Twitter. “An incredible feat. Clean game. Our trilogy will happen."

A few days after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, UFC opened its main broadcast with an image in her memory.

The Las Vegas crowd was indifferent at best.

The main card is coming up and we have five fights to sink our teeth into.

Johnny Walker vs. Ion Cutelaba is the first.

The rest of the card, in order, looks like this:

Irene Aldana x Macy Chiasson
Li Jingliang x Daniel Rodriguez
Khamzat Chimaev x Kevin Holland
NATE DIAZ x TONY FERGUSON

30-27, 30-27. 30-27.

Absolute stop by Julián Erosa. He staggered Dawodu several times in the first round, opening him up by controlling the Canadian to the ground in the second round, and although he proceeded more cautiously in the third, he still fought back and dominated on the ground to secure the win.

The only problem he encountered was when Dawodu was down for a few seconds at the end of the third round, and calling that problem would be generous.

Easy and clean sweep for Erosa, who landed 98 significant shots to Dawodu's 69.

The 33 year old has lit up Hakeem Dawodu in the first round here. He landed a leaping knee to his opponent's face in the final 15 seconds and Erosa landed over 30 head strikes in the first five minutes.

This one might not last much longer.

This 149.5-pound fight is next. Dawodu is 6-2 in the UFC while Erosa is 5-5 but has won the last five of his last six.

Johnny Walker and Ion Cutelaba will open the main card after this fight. We're getting close to main event madness!

Johnny Walker, once the UFC's hottest 205-pound fighter, has just one win in his last five after winning nine in a row.

In an interview this week, the Brazilian, who is part of Conor McGregor's SBG Ireland team, said CBD oil was partly to blame.

“I had no idea, and I only found out four or five months ago, that CBD has a small amount of THC, a small percentage, and I am extremely allergic to THC,” Walker said.

Almeida, who comes from twelve consecutive wins between light heavyweight and light heavyweight, says he is destined for the money: 'I want to be heavyweight. Put me in Abu Dhabi, I'm ready to go.'

The UFC will be in Abu Dhabi on October 22nd. Almeida will almost certainly fight a fighter from the next ranking.

The much-hyped Brazilian faced the undefeated (8-0) Swede with just two fights left to reach the main card and wasted no time. The UFC better run a few more video packs!

Almeida is the type to try to outsmart Turkaij, so it should come as no surprise that much of the first round was on the ground. Finally, he spun around to land a few blows to the ground and landed, causing his enemy to surrender. This allowed the Brazilian to hit the hooks and a deep rear naked choke has only one result.

Turkaij is also a training partner of Khamzat Chimaev and Alexander Gustaffson. He is no stranger to fighting and that makes him all the more impressive.

After a struggle backstage, Dana White had no choice but to take the unprecedented step of canceling the pre-event press conference.

Khamzat Chimaev, whose team includes Briton Darren Till, was welcomed by a combination of Kevin Holland and his small team and the Diaz brothers Nick and Nate, along with their much larger entourage.

Given the chaos, UFC President White was unable to get everyone on stage and that was the day before the weigh-in chaos!

'I told them: don't play with us. Kevin got what he deserved. Diaz got what he deserved.

Midway through the second round, Pickett had to be stopped twice due to low blows from Tiuliulin. The second really was a low kick, but it didn't seem intentional as they both kicked at the same time.

The Russian lost points, and the middleweight was outraged. He went after Pickett and his hard elbows really made the difference in the end.

Nate Diaz was furious that Khamzat Chimaev, his original opponent at UFC 279, lost 7 POUNDS and said he would fight him anywhere but the Octagon.

Diaz said: 'I will never fight him here (Khamzat Chimaev in the Octagon), but I will fight him right now if I can find his fucking ass.

Chris Barnett, after going through serious problems in the first round, finds the end of the ground and pound in the second! Collier held on as shots rained down, but the referee was forced to step in and stop him just as his defense became less than enthusiastic.

Barnett treated us all to his patented front star in the win that takes him 23-8.

It is frankly remarkable that there was no submission in the first round of the first preliminary fight! Chris Barnett's eye is swollen beyond belief after getting up and trading Jake Collier to start the fight. He also somehow managed to survive a choke attempt at the end of the first round.

These two men are up and hitting!

Here we go! UFC 270, after one of the most chaotic pre-fight weeks in the promotion's history, is finally here and arguably better for the madness!

Nate Diaz faces Tony Ferguson in the main event after Khamzat Chimaev lost weight and will now face Kevin Holland.

The prelims are starting now with Jake Collier and Chris Barnett!