Initially supposed to go face-to-face against Khamzat Chimaev, Nate Diaz recently took part in an unexpected match-up against Tony Ferguson in the main event of UFC279. Held this past Saturday, September 10, 2022, the iconic Southpaw was forced to switch opponents just hours before the fight was set to take place due to his previous opponent (Khamzat) missing his weigh-in by a total of eight and a half pounds; his official weight was 178.5 pounds in comparison to his necessary 170 pounds.
As a result of Khamzats’ failure to reach the UFC’s mandatory requirements, former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson stepped in as a last-minute replacement. However, even training to compete against a different opponent with a completely different fighting technique, Diaz still managed to come out with an incredible victory: Nate defeated Ferguson via the guillotine choke hold submission at the T-Mobile Arena in the second minute of the fourth round.
Both fighters went back-and-forth throughout rounds as they exchanged various heavy blows looking to put their competitor down. The match began to seem bleak for Ferguson after he suffered a brutal cut to his left shin and upper right eye, leading to the 38-year-old athlete losing an extreme amount of blood – Diaz endured an intense beating to his right leg along with slight bruising to his left eye. With this win, Diaz has increased his professional MMA record to a total of 22-13-0 while simultaneously solidifying himself as one of the most dangerous submission fighters to step in a UFC ring.