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UFC president Dana White hit back at the conspiracy theorists who claimed the UFC 279 shuffle got orchestrated by the company.
This past Saturday, Nate Diaz took on Tony Ferguson in the final bout of his contract with the promotion. Diaz was initially set to face Khamzat Chimaev in the main event but got paired up with Ferguson after “Borz” missed the agreed weight limit, coming in over seven and a half pounds overweight at 178.5 pounds.
Chimaev’s weight miss put the entire card at the risk of collapsing. White and his team were left scrambling to save the event and got to work negotiating with the fighters. They managed to rearrange three fights, giving Ferguson to Diaz and Kevin Holland to Chimaev to make it work on a day’s notice.
There were talks online of the debacle being set up by the UFC to boost ticket sales with former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub labeling it a conspiracy.
During Tuesday night’s “Dana White’s Contender Series” post-fight press conference, White responded to the claims, believing they had come from the first UFC welterweight champion, Pat Miletich.
“We fixed a lot of the problems we used to have,” White said. “Khamzat came in on weight. When he landed here, he was lighter than he was his last fight and he made weight.”
“I heard this thing today,” White said. “Again, I don’t know how true it is or whatever. Pat Miletich was saying that we told Khamzat not to make weight because we weren’t selling tickets. The f****** show was sold out going into that day of the weigh-ins. I don’t know if Pat really said that but if he did, he has to be the dumbest motherf***** on the planet.”
White Ranted at the Conspiracy Theorists
White went on a misguided rant aimed at Miletich and made his feelings on the matter clear with a sharp rebuke. He could not fathom someone like Miletich, a grizzled veteran of the game, could spread such rumors.
“Do you know how f****** stupid you have to be to even think something like that let alone say it publicly and act like you are f****** serious? We’re regulated by the athletic commission. If you think that we told Khamzat Chimaev to not make weight, then Khamzat shows up and the fans are all pissed off at him and stuff. If you know anything about the sport, this is a guy that was actually in the sport, training and fighting and everything else.”
White recommended a visit to the brain clinic for anyone who would make such a claim.
“If Pat really said that, it’s f****** holy s***. We might have to send him out to the f****** brain clinic here. Get him f****** checked out.”
White Found Out It Was Schaub
Just as White was about to head out of the presser, MMA reporter Alex Behunin chimed in to inform White that it was, in fact, Schaub who made those comments and not Miletich.
White took a cheeky dig at Schaub in a succinct reply.
“Oh, it wasn’t Pat Miletich?” White added. “I apologize to Pat Miletich then. That makes sense.”
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