Khamzat Chimaev was jeered by UFC fans during the ceremonial weigh-in for his fight with Kevin Holland.
Chimaev, the No.3-ranked welterweight in the world, was due to take on Nate Diaz in the main event of UFC 279 in Las Vegas on Saturday night. But he weighed in over seven pounds heavy on Friday morning which saw the fight scrapped.
And while Chimaev will face Holland in the co-main event, Diaz will take on Tony Ferguson in the feature attraction with both bouts taking place over five rounds. The other change to the card sees Li Jingliang take on Daniel Rodriguez in a catchweight bout after both men were left without their original opponents.
UFC president Dana White had earlier revealed Chimaev had been struggling with cramp while he made his weight and the Swedish fighter showed little remorse when he said: "They stoped that s***; I dont know, i wanted to continue. This is Chechnya, motherf*******. shut up, guys. Shut up guys, I'm going to f*** your boy up and I'll f*** him up backstage as well. I don't care, I want to smash everybody, I'm going to smash everybody, I take over now."
Diaz, who will fight out his UFC contract when he takes on Ferguson, claimed Chimaev had been scared to fight him despite being a long odds-on favourite. "Tony's been around a long time and we should have fought a long time ago," he said.
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"Khabib's b**** ass was afraid of him just like this b**** ass was afraid of me. We punked his b**** ass in the back there and now he doesn't want to make weight. You guys know what it is, real Gs come from California, America, motherf*****."
Holland, who had been due to take on Rodriguez, is looking for his third win in succession, and said: "It all happens for a good reason, these guys claiming they're gangsters are not gangsters; they wear make up for the HD cameras." But when asked if his new fight was a better one for him, Holland admitted:"F*** no but it's going to be a fun one."
