UFC President Dana White took the stage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Thursday and delivered the unfortunate news that due to events unfolding behind the scenes, the press conference will not go ahead due to concern for the safety of all involved. “All hell broke loose,” White said after canceling the event. Among the participants in the backstage events were UFC fighters Khamzat Chimaev and Kevin Holland, who at the time were not scheduled to fight each other at the pay-per-view event. The promotion released footage of Chimaev throwing a kick at Holland before security made sure they didn’t get close to each other as they booed. Headliner Nate Diaz was also in attendance and can be seen throwing an object at someone. Watch video of the fight below (via Twitter): After Chimaev missed weight on the scales on Friday morning, the promotion looked to shuffle the top three bouts on the UFC 279 main card, now pitting Chimaev against Holland in the co-main event. Chimaev was originally scheduled to fight in the main event against Diaz and Holland was set to face Daniel Rodriguez. The new bouts will now see Diaz take on Tony Ferguson and Rodriguez against Li Jingliang. UFC 279 takes place Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNEWS and early prelims on ESPN+. For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 279.
