"That's a bunch of bullshit"- 'Big' John McCarthy reveals the real reason why the doctor stopped Khamzat Chimaev from cutting anymore weight ahead of UFC 279 which led to the massive weight miss
Khamzat Chimaev spent the week leading up to his UFC 279 main event fight against Nate Diaz surrounded by controversy.
First, there was an altercation with Paulo Costa at the UFC Performance Institute. This was followed by a backstage brawl that featured Chimaev, Diaz, and Kevin Holland amongst others and led to the cancelation of the press conference. Finally, he missed weight by 7.5 pounds, forcing the main card to be reshuffled. His excuse, however, was not something John McCarthy was buying.
Khamzat Chimaev flipped off the crowd after being showered with boos 🗣 #UFC279 https://t.co/kbldRiwk6z
While speaking on his WEIGHING IN podcast, John McCarthy and co-host Josh Thomson discussed the excuse that Khamzat Chimaev stopped cutting weight due to advice from doctors. When Thomson attempted to quote Chimaev by saying the doctor told him to do so, McCarthy interruped, stating (starting at the 42:36 mark):
"That's bulls**t, stop, stop, that's a bunch of bulls**t. Of course the doctor - and I know the doctor that they're talking about. I'm not going to sit here and say his name, but he works for the UFC, he's a great guy, love him. Of course he's going to sit there and say, 'Hey, stop!' because he knows Chimaev is dehydrated already. What does a doctor say? No, keep on going until you possibly make the weight or you possibly end up in the hospital."
Thomson interrupted by noting:
"Liability reasons he's got to say stop. There's not just liability, but then there's on top of it - I want to remind people that everyone kept saying 'the doctor said', well my doctor told me not to f**king run anymore too because my foot was f**ked up, but I still did it. Your doctor tells you to do a lot of stuff that fighters just go, 'Ah f**k it'. This is one of those situations where he knew he wasn't going to make the weight. You can blame the doctor all you want."
Watch John McCarthy and Josh Thomson's full comments on Khamzat Chimaev missing weight below:
Khamzat Chimaev's controversial week continued following reshuffling
Following his weight miss, Khamzat Chimaev was moved from his main event slot against Nate Diaz to a co-main event matchup against Kevin Holland. While he won that matchup in dominating fashion, he was once again unable to escape controversy following a 'fake-glove touch'.
Real gangsters don’t fake glove touch, pussy. https://t.co/B29d0rv3Xq
Following his first-round submission victory, Chimaev placed himself in yet another controversial situation. Rather than attempting to fix the situation he had created for himself throughout the week, Chimaev made it even worse by using his post-fight interview to compare himself to legendary boxer Muhammad Ali.
Leading up to UFC 279, many expected Chimaev to make a statement with his performance, however, his week will be remembered for everything but his dominant showing. Rather than using his opportunity against Nate Diaz, one of the most popular UFC fighters in the history of the promotion, to gain fans, he ended up alienating many with his actions.