Getty Khamzat Chimaev looks on after his welterweight fight against Gilbert Burns.
UFC superstar Khamzat Chimaev tried to scrap with Kevin Holland backstage at the pre-fight press conference of UFC 279.
During the build-up to the event, things got heated at the presser when Chimaev crossed paths with Holland backstage. “Borz” confronted Holland for his comments labeling the top-ranked welterweight contender a fake “street” fighter. There were reports that Chimaev push kicked Holland, with the two going back and forth online.
ESPN MMA took to Twitter to share the video of the heated altercation between Chimaev and Holland backstage.
“Say something now. F*** you b****,” Chimaev said.
“You’re not about that f****** life, kid. You’re not about it,” Holland responded.
“You’re my b****. You piece of s***. Talk in interviews, now say something. Everyone like playing gangsters, c’mon come here,” Chimaev said.
Holland had shared a video online hinting at what could have possibly gone down, but he remained cryptic on the matter. He got into a scuffle with Chimaev in 2021 inside a hotel lobby when the Chechen-born Swede confronted him over his criticism of Chimaev regarding wearing masks during the pandemic.
Dana White canceled the press conference
UFC president Dana White was forced to cancel the press conference for the first time in the history of the promotion. While he did not go into much detail, he apologized and expressed concerns regarding the safety of the fighters backstage to explain his decision.
“Yeah, this ain’t gonna happen,” White told the gathered media. “I apologize, everybody, I am in very weird waters here. This has never happened in the history of this company. Trust me when I tell you, this was the right decision not to do this press conference right now. I hear ya, I’m with ya but for everybody’s safety this is the right decision, alright, I apologize. Thanks for coming!”
Chimaev vs. Holland Is Set for UFC 279
Chimaev came in seven and a half pounds over the agreed weight limit and failed to make his scheduled bout with Nate Diaz official. The whole event appeared to be at the risk of collapsing until White and his team got to work negotiating with the athletes and shuffling them differently.
In a surprising turn of events, Chimaev got matched up with Holland to serve as the co-main event of the night. Diaz got booked with Tony Ferguson as the new headlining match.
There were reports that Chimaev could not make weight due to a medical issue, and White revealed Chimaev was advised by the doctors to stop cutting.
“So, what happened was he was cutting weight,” White said via BJPenn.com. “If you saw him yesterday, he was very lean already and he should’ve come in on weight. He started to cut weight and you know, he started locking up and cramping. All things that happen from a bad cut.”
Dana White continued, “Unlike ten years ago, when we were doing this, we call and send a doctor up and he determines if he should keep cutting weight or not. The doctor told him he shouldn’t. So, we jumped on [saving this card] this morning.”