"He was preparing for that takedown with Chimaev" - Tony Ferguson says he's "kicking" himself for shooting for takedown against Nate Diaz at UFC 279
Nate Diaz was able to close out the current chapter of his UFC career with a superb submission victory over fellow legend Tony Ferguson. The headliner of UFC 279 was rearranged at the last minute, following Khamzat Chimaev's weight miss, and 'El Cucuy' was bumped up to the main event to replace 'Borz'.
Both Diaz and Ferguson were forced to change their game plans at the eleventh hour, but 'El Cucuy' believes that the reason he lost the fight was based on the game plan that Diaz would have used against Chimaev.
Ferguson was interviewed by Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA. He said that the guillotine submission that his opponent caught him with was exactly the game plan he would have used against Chimaev:
"But I guarantee that he was preparing for that takedown with Chimaev. I would be practicing my submissions left and right. He had that in his tank already, so I'm kicking myself for not keeping it standing for sure on that one."
Watch the interview below from 0:55:
'El Cucuy' shot for a takedown in Round 4, and Nate Diaz used his years of Gracie jiu-jitsu to submit Ferguson and win what could be his last UFC fight. The Stocktonian recently founded a fight promotion company called Real Fight Inc. and also has plans on venturing into the world of boxing.
Nate Diaz provides more footage of the infamous backstage brawl at UFC 279
Nate Diaz released a vlog on his YouTube channel, showcasing an in-depth look at how the 'Diaz Camp' gets ready for a UFC fight. The most recent episode of the series contained footage of the scuffle that took place at UFC 279, resulting in the pre-fight press conference having to be canceled for the first time in the promotion's history.
Water bottles can be seen being thrown in the direction of Khamzat Chimaev and Darren Till by members of the Diaz camp, with many expletives being shouted back and forth. However, the security team was able to maintain some sort of control over the situation and keep the two groups separated.
Watch the video below from 5:05:
Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev can be heard going back and forth, but fortunately it seems that nothing serious was allowed to occur.