Renowned MMA journalist Ariel Helwani has taken to Twitter to clear the air around the backstage altercation that saw the UFC 279 press conference called off.
Here’s the full story regarding why the UFC 279 press conference was canceled before it started. pic.twitter.com/adIIQfKFXW
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 9, 2022
UFC 279 Backstage Brawl Details
Helwani says the incident began when UFC welterweight favourite Kevin Holland exchanged heated words with one half of this weekend’s main event, Khamzat Chimaev. The pair shoved one another and reportedly exchanged blows until separated by MMA veteran Tiki Ghosn.
Ghosn, an associate of Nate Diaz, is then spotted standing with Chimaev by the Diaz camp. Unhappy with this, aggressive comments are made which eventually escalated into further violence.
More info coming in.
Khamzat Chimaev push kicked Holland in the chest. Chimaev was reacting to things Holland has said recently and it set him off, I’m told. Once that was broken up the Chimaev-Diaz part of the story popped off and then the bottles started flying. https://t.co/WGpbskiQz7
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 9, 2022
Dana White took to the stage to announce the press conference would not be happening and insisted that “for everybody’s safety, this is the right decision”.
Dana White was forced to cancel a fight week press conference for the first time in UFC history
#UFC279 pic.twitter.com/IQdqgKo7ul
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 9, 2022
The UFC is yet to release further details or clarify what exactly occurred. But as of now, UFC 279 is still scheduled to go ahead as planned.
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