"Don’t listen to the media guys who are spinning that narrative" - Ariel Helwani says Dana White isn't the "UFC MVP" who saved UFC 279 card, it was someone else
On one of the craziest nights in the history of the promotion, the UFC 279 card completely fell apart after Khamzat Chimaev missed the non-title welterweight mark by 7.5 pounds.
In a move that is being called brilliant by some fans and "scripted" by others, the UFC set up Nate Diaz to fight fellow veteran Tony Ferguson.
This feels like one of those cool photoshop videos https://t.co/Jo8LXaVB9A
The lineup shuffle also saw Chimaev booked against Kevin Holland. The two brawled backstage the day before, which led to the cancelation of the scheduled press conference.
It started backstage and now they'll finish it in the cage 🍿 #UFC279 https://t.co/amFW1s6K0t
Li Jingliang, who was supposed to face Ferguson, will now lock horns with a 10lbs-heavier rival in Daniel Rodriguez, who was originally Holland's opponent.
On Li Jingliang from his manager Tim Simpson. https://t.co/fPWHgx9GSG
The MMA community was quick to praise the UFC president for saving the card with the well-thought-out swaps. However, veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani revealed that it is not Dana White who deserves the credit, but Hunter Campbell.
The UFC MVP who saved this card wasn’t Dana White. Don’t listen to the media guys who are spinning that narrative.
It was Hunter Campbell. He saved it for them and deserves the credit.
Hunter Campbell, whose name often comes up in legal matters regarding the UFC, is the promotion's Chief Business Officer and former Executive Vice President and General Counsel, per his LinkedIn account.
Nate Diaz cuts terrific promo after UFC 279 weigh-ins
Khamzat Chimaev's reputation of being a "gangster" has certainly dampened a little after missing weight by a significant margin and showing no remorse for the same.
He issued quite a few threats to Nate Diaz as well as other fighters on the card for some reason in the lead up to the pay-per-view, but could not show up where it mattered most.
Diaz did not forget to remind Chimaev who the "Real G" was in his post-weigh-in chat with Joe Rogan. While at it, he also took a sly shot at Khabib Nurmagomedov for ducking Tony Ferguson:
"Tony’s been around a long time, we should have fought a long time ago. Khabib's [Nurmagomedov] b**ch a** was afraid of him just like this b**ch a** motherf***er was afraid of me yesterday. We punched his b**ch a** in the back here and now he doesn’t make weight. You guys already know what it is. Real Gs come from California, America motherf***er."
Watch the promo below:
What a promo https://t.co/SAjvZXqMu0
This is the first time in the history of the promotion that a main event had to be changed due to a fighter missing weight. However, Chimaev will not be fined since he is getting ready to face Kevin Holland at an official catchweight of 180 pounds. The other two fighters on the card who missed weight - Chris Barnett and Hakeem Dawodu - will have to forfeit a percentage of their purses.
For those asking, Khamzat wasn’t fined for missing weight. He’s in a new bout at a catchweight and he made that weight. So fines for Dawodu and Barnett because they missed weight and are fighting same opponent. Khamzat is fighting a 180-pound catchweight, so no fine. #UFC279