VIDEO: Diaz, who confirmed his temporary retirement from the UFC, dominated the fight of legends. Chimaev was not deterred by the boos. What did UFC 279 look like?

Despite all the pre-tournament problems, UFC 279 promised to be a great show. Especially the main card, which after a last-minute rebuild turned into even more attractive than it was originally. What did the tournament look like?

Early Prelims and Prelims

The first two cards at UFC 279 weren’t very attractive at first glance based on the names. The most well-known fighter on them was Chris Barnett, who was no match for Martin Buday last time out.

And if you’re a fan of early finishes, it really wasn’t that much fun. In fact, only three of the eight fights ended other than on points. And we had to wait until the fifth fight to get our first stoppage.

Darian Weeks was no match for Yohan Laines and is the only fighter to lose on a split decision. Melissa Martinez lost to Elise Reed for a change, Chad Anheliger was no match for Alatengheli. Then in the fourth bout, Norma Dumont notched a win when she defeated Danyelle Wolf.

The first early finish was taken care of by the aforementioned Chris Barnett. He took care of the record before the fight when he became the heaviest fighter to ever fight in the UFC. He then handled Jake Collier in his bout, ending it in the second round.

It’s worth noting that Barnett certainly didn’t get his win for nothing. On the contrary. He was in trouble himself at one point.

Denis Tiuliulin got another early finish. He beat Jamie Pickett in the second round

The third and final early exit was by Jailton Almeida. He put on an outstanding performance, taking Anton Turkalj to a first round choke.

In the last bout, Hakeem Dawodu defeated Julian Erosa on points.

The main card

Shock! Walker won on a submission, Aldana ended the fight with an upkick to the ribs

The first match on the main card was a bit overlooked, but unfairly so. Johnny Walker is one of the more attractive fighters, even though he has four losses in his last five fights. Ion Cutelaba wanted to get into the top 15 of the welterweight rankings over him, only he couldn’t.

Walker did get into trouble in the first round when Cutelaba took him down, which is definitely not the Brazilian fighter’s forte. However, he turned the situation around and won himself the submission by successfully finishing a rear-naked choke. For only the second time in his career (26 fights), he won on a submission. And he did it in the first round.

The only women’s match on the main card offered a longer spectacle. Irene Aldana took on Macy Chiasson and it was a night and day duel. Each round looked completely different and ended in an unprecedented way.

Aldana clearly dominated the first round and Chiasson returned the dominance in the second round. In the third round it was hard to predict the outcome, however Chiasson tried to take the fight to the ground and in the end she can only regret it. Aldana hit her with an awesome upkick from behind right in the ribs and it was all over.

The hero Jingliang didn’t put the finishing touches on a great story

The changes that occurred on the UFC 279 main card probably wouldn’t have taken place if it weren’t for the Chinese fighter. Li Jingliang accepted a welterweight bout with the legendary Tony Ferguson 22 days before the tournament.

However, the day before the fight, he lost his opponent due to a Khamzat Chimaev transfer. Ferguson became Nate Diaz’s new opponent, Chimaev was facing Kevin Holland and Jingliang was left with Daniel Rodriguez.

It’s worth noting that Rodriguez went into the match considerably heavier. He was already about four kilograms heavier on the scales. So Jingliang took a big risk. However, he put on a great performance in the fight. He was active, he hit, he had great movement.

The fight could have gone either way. Unfortunately for the Chinese hero, the winning point didn’t come. Rodriguez won on a split decision.

Chimaev gave his long-time rival no chance, not even the boos of the crowd stopped him

Khamzat Chimaev had messed up everything he could before the tournament, but when it came to the fight, nobody doubted his victory too much. He was a big favourite and he didn’t stand a chance against his long-time rival Kevin Holland.

However, it’s worth noting that Chimaev helped himself with some unfairness right from the start. Holland went for a high-five with Chimaev after the fight started, Chimaev indicated a high-five as well, but instead he attempted a quick takedown and Holland had no chance to respond.

Still, Holland showed a vast improvement in his wrestling. He resisted a lot of pressure from the undefeated Chimaev for quite some time, only to have it all over after two minutes and 13 seconds. He ended the match on a D’Arce choke.

It’s worth noting that the fans booed Chimaev pretty much the whole time. From the moment he came on to the moment he left the cage. It’s hard to say that it affected him in any way.

Diaz and Ferguson put on a fantastic show

Had this been a few years ago, this would have been an incredible spectacle of true UFC greats. Even now, however, this fight drew a lot of attention. Both Nate Diaz and Tony Ferguson are two of the huge legends of MMA as a whole.

Two unorthodox fighters with unique fighting styles. It was simply something to look forward to. And the first round proved it. And so did the second. Both fighters were having fun, and although it was a professional fight, despite its toughness, at times it seemed like an exhibition.

The third round was absolutely phenomenal from that standpoint. Both Ferguson and Diaz showed great combinations, Diaz also entertained the fans with various gestures.

The fourth round, which unfortunately was the last round, was no different.

Diaz landed some decent combinations, putting Ferguson under pressure. He resorted to a takedown attempt because of it, but Diaz made it count and successfully caught a guillotine to finish his opponent.

Diaz confirmed after the fight that he is now leaving the UFC to try other disciplines besides MMA. However, he intends to return. Ferguson, for his part, said he’s back. He thoroughly enjoyed the fight and certainly has nothing to be ashamed of.

Source: UFC, Twitter