What a wild and crazy finish it was to UFC 279 Saturday night.
A day after completely rearranging the featured fights, the action hit the Octagon live on pay-per-view from the T-Mobile Arena just outside of Las Vegas.
Nate Diaz was scheduled to meet Khamzat Chimaev in the main event, but after Chimaev missed weight, Tony Ferguson was moved up to replace him. Chimaev instead fought Kevin Holland.
Diaz, fighting on the final bout of his contract, locked in a guillotine choke in the fourth round to secure the win over Ferguson. It was his first victory since 2019, snapping a two-fight losing skid.
The change did nothing to hinder the performance of Chimaev, as he submitted Holland in the first round. The rising contender locked in a D’Arce choke to improve to 12-0 in his career with 11 finishes.
Another of the bouts changed around saw Daniel Rodriguez secure a split decision over Li Jingliang. New foes just hours before they squared off, Rodriguez was able to do just enough to earn his fourth consecutive win and 17th overall in 19 pro fights.
Irene Aldana picked up a third round finish over Macy Chiasson moments after Johnny Walker submitted Ion Cutelaba to begin the main card.
Julian Erosa bested Hakeem Dawodu in the ESPN prelim main event. Jailton Almeida, Denis Tiuliulin and Chris Barnett were all winners. Almeida, Tiuliulin and Barnett scored finishes.
The early prelims saw Norma Dumont, Alaten Heili, Elise Reed and Yohan Lainesse all get their hands raised in victory.
UFC 279 Results
Nate Diaz def. Tony Ferguson vias submission (guillotine choke) at 2:52 of Round 4
Khamzat Chimaev def. Kevin Holland via submission (D’Arce choke) at 2:13 of Round 1
Daniel Rodriguez def. Li Jingliang via split decision
Irene Aldana def. Macy Chiasson via TKO (strikes) at 2:21 of Round 3
Johnny Walker def. Ion Cutelaba via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:37 of Round 1
Julian Erosa def. Hakeem Dawodu via unanimous decision
Jailton Almeida def. Anton Turkalj via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:27 of Round 1
Denis Tiuliulin def. Jamie Pickett via TKO (strikes) at 4:52 of Round 2
Chris Barnett def. Jake Collier via TKO (strikes) at 2:24 of Round 2
Norma Dumont def. Danyelle Wolf via unanimous decision
Alateng Heili def. Chad Anheliger via unanimous decision
Elise Reed def. Melissa Martinez via unanimous decision
Yohan Lainesse def. Darian Weeks via split decision