Khamzat Chimaev tosses Kevin Holland around and submits him early at UFC 279
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us tonight, September 10, 2022, for UFC 279, going down live on pay-per-view from the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
Considering former main eventer Khamzat Chimaev (11-0) missed weight by 7.5 lbs, weighing in at 178.5 lbs despite the 171 lb limit, we had a bit of a change in match ups.
In fact, there are a record six catchweight contests going down tonight.
The Ultimate Fighter 5 winner Nate Diaz (20-13) was initially slated to face no. 3 ranked Chimaev in the main event but will now face former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson (25-7) in the five round main event of the evening.
Co-headlining the event was supposed to be Ferguson facing no. 14 ranked welterweight contender Li Jingliang (19-7), and Daniel Rodriguez (16-2) was slated against Kevin Holland (23-7-0-1).
In the aftermath of this, Chimaev will face Holland in the five round co-main event of the evening, and Rodriguez will face Jingliang in tonight’s feature fight, marking the first time ever the UFC put on an event with two five round non-title bouts.
For Chimaev, this is a pretty similar match up. Holland has good hands, lackluster takedown defense, and a black belt in BJJ, much like Diaz. For Holland however, this couldn’t be more different of a match up than he was preparing for.
But, the same analogy applies; Holland, like Diaz, has great endurance. Did Chimaev look good in the later rounds, did he look bad, or did he secure another finish?
Continue reading to see how this 180 lb catchweight bout went down:
Official Result: Khamzat Chimaev def. Kevin Holland via submission (D’Arce choke) at 2:13 of round one
Chimaev probably secures the quickest takedown in UFC history right out of the gate, but Holland is right back to his feet. Chimaev doesn’t give him any room to breathe though, he’s all over him, as he floors Holland once again.
Holland is making it tough for him to advance and Chimaev is using a lot of energy, like seriously, a lot of it. This is a five round fight.
But, just as we were thinking that, Chimaev locks up a D’Arce choke. He has to readjust it a couple times over the course of the next minute or so, as Holland defends it very well initially, but is eventually forced to tap.
This is Chimaev’s first submission win over a BJJ black belt, what an impressive performance he had, despite his faults this past week.
Khamzat Chimaev is now 12-0 (6-0 UFC) as a professional with 11 finishes (6 knockout, 5 submission).
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