"This will never happen to us again" - Dana White answers if Khamzat Chimaev and others involved in UFC 279 backstage fight will be punished for their actions
The UFC 279 presser was canceled due to a brawl reportedly started by Khamzat Chimaev and Kevin Holland snowballing into absolute chaos backstage. UFC president Dana White accepted that while the UFC was prepared for a scuffle between Chimaev and his opponent Nate Diaz, they weren't ready for an all-out brawl involving multiple fighters.
However, the UFC boss doesn't plan on penalizing any of the fighters involved in the scuffle that led to the cancelation of the UFC 279 presser. According to White, 'these things happen' in the fight business, and he plans to be better prepared in the future. The 53-year-old also promised to avoid such incidents in the future. Asked if he intends to punish the involved parties, White said:
"This is what we do. This is the business we're in. This is the fight business. These things happen. What we do is look at how this happened today -- why were we unprepared for this? Why were we not able to manage this backstage better than we did? And we'll be better next time we do a press conference. This will never happen to us again."
Watch White's comments below:
Khamzat Chimaev claims Nate Diaz and Kevin Holland got what they deserved at the UFC 279 presser brawl
Dana White initially confirmed reports that the brawl was started by Khamzat Chimaev and Kevin Holland. Later reports suggested that the scuffle between Chimaev and Holland died down, only to be escalated further by the arrival of Nate Diaz and his team.
Early word is Khamzat Chimaev and Kevin Holland initially got into it and the whole situation got out of hand. Then situation spilled over to Nate’s team. Lots of chaos. More coming in. Developing,
Ariel Helwani also reported that Chimaev push-kicked Holland in the chest, who later refuted the claims. But 'Borz' claims that both Holland and Diaz got what they deserved during the backstage brawl. Khamzat Chimaev said on his Instagram Stories in Russian:
"I told them: Don’t joke with us. Kevin got what he deserved. Diaz got what he deserved.” h/t MMA Junkie
According to Dana White, Diaz showed up with 57 people at the UFC 279 presser, while Chimaev showed up with more than 30. White claims that the way the press conference unfolded, or rather did not, was a foregone conclusion.