UFC 279 Press Conference Cancelled, Mike Heck and José Youngs React

By FIGHT SPORTS Sep 9, 2022 Last updated Sep 13, 2022

After the press conference for UFC 279 was abruptly cancelled by Dana White, reactions followed as MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and José Youngs gave their initial thoughts.

According to Dana White, the conference was cancelled due to multiple different altercations that occurred backstage. The scene was an “absolute s*** show”, according to White.

“This ain’t gonna happen, I apologize everybody; I’m in very weird waters here,” said White. “For everybody’s safety, this is the right decision.”

Heck stated that initial reports, coming from sources inside the conference, blamed the cancellation on an altercation between Kevin Holland and Khamzat Chimaev, with Heck confirming that Chimaev push kicked Holland in the chest.

🚨| Daniel Rodriguez’s IG story just 10 minutes ago. Appears to still be some tensions around the arena.#UFC279 pic.twitter.com/hahwtirJaN

— The MMA Media (@The_MMA_Media) September 9, 2022

This fight then later transferred into a larger fight between Chimaev’s and Nate Diaz’s team.

José Youngs was at the event, and he described the scene backstage “multiple fights happening all at once. I don’t think Dana was aware of the history between Khamzat and Kevin Holland.”

Youngs further stated that he believed the cancellation was the right move.

However, Heck later reported that according to an anonymous source that this all began with Paulo Costa and Chimaev having a heated exchange, which eventually boiled over into the chaos that cancelled the conference.

“This is all just wild,” said Heck.

UFC 279 arrives tomorrow night, with the main event between Chimaev and Diaz scheduled for 10:00 PM EST and UFC pay-per-view exclusively on ESPN+.