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The UFC 279 press conference was canceled by the promotion's president Dana White owing to a backstage brawl breaking out between several fighters on the card. According to White, there was inadequate security at the venue to handle the brawl.
UFC 279 was the first time in the promotion's history that a pre-fight presser has been canceled.
Watch the chaos at UFC 279 press conference venue below:
In an interaction with the media following the cancelation of the press-conference, White clarified that four fighters on the card were involved in the incident:
“There were multiple things going on at the same time. It wasn’t just one thing that erupted and it happened. There were multiple things going on at the same time... there were four [fighters] of them involved.”
Watch Dana White explain why he canceled the UFC 279 press conference below:
The 53-year-old revealed that an altercation between Khamzat Chimaev and Kevin Holland was what ignited the unpleasantries. Furthermore, the UFC president clarified that he aims to have increased security present for future press conferences.
According to a report by MMA Fighting, the Chechen-born Swede was the one who initiated the brawl by kicking fellow welterweight Kevin Holland.
The report also stated that a second incident between the teams of Chimaev and Nate Diaz also occurred just as the presser started, which ultimately led to White pulling the plug on the press conference.
When UFC president Dana White thanked former fighter Tiki Ghosn for helping deal with the backstage brawl
During the same interview, Dana White thanked former fighter-turned-manager Tiki Ghosn for helping the UFC de-escalate the backstage brawl that led to the cancelation of the press conference.
White explained that Ghosn took a couple of kicks, slaps, and bottles to the head while trying to stop the brawl:
"If it wasn't for Tiki [Ghosn], we would have been in trouble.... Tiki took a couple for the team and he's not even on the team... Tiki took a couple of water bottles to the head, a couple of slaps, kicks. Thanks Tiki."
Despite having a rather lackluster career in the UFC, accumulating a record of 0-4, the former fighter has since found success in the sports management arena.
His company, Arsenal Sports Agency, boasts an elite clientele such as the No. 2 ranked UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier, former bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw, and former UFC title challenger Brian Ortega, among others.
Watch Tiki Ghosn explain how he got into the fighter management arena below:
