Khamzat Chimaev reacts after reportedly push kicking Kevin Holland in the chest backstage at UFC 279 press conference

By Jeffrey Walter - September 8, 2022

Khamzat Chimaev has taken to social media after reportedly push kicking Kevin Holland in the chest backstage at the UFC 279 press conference.

Khamzat Chimaev, UFC 279, Press Conference

The incident, which caused the press conference to be cancelled entirely, occurred moments after Kevin Holland and his upcoming opponent Daniel Rodriguez exited the stage for other fighters to come on.

According to MMA Journalist Ariel Helwani, ‘Borz’ kicked ‘Trailblazer’ in the chest due to some previous comments made by the self proclaimed “Big Mouth”.

“Khamzat Chimaev push kicked Holland in the chest. Chimaev was reacting to things Holland has said recently and it set him off, I’m told. Once that was broken up the Chimaev-Diaz part of the story popped off and then the bottles started flying.” – Helwani reported on Twitter.

After Nate Diaz and his team entered the fray, UFC President Dana White took to the stage to announce that the press event was cancelled due to safety reasons.

“Yeah, this ain’t gonna happen, I apologize, everybody, I am in very weird waters here. This has never happened in the history of the company. Trust me when I tell you, this was the right decision not to do this press conference right now. (Crowd boos) I hear ya, I’m with ya but for everybody’s safety this is the right decision, alright, I apologize. Thanks for coming,” White said to the fight fans in attendance.

Kevin Holland went on social media shortly following the incident where he addressed his backstage altercation with Khamzat Chimaev.

”Just so everyone knows. I offered that clown a free beard trim. I don’t know anywhere in the US that would offer that service free! I am precise I promise I would not knick him. At your service just like the hotel staff bro.” – Holland wrote.

Most recently it was ‘Borz’ who took to social media, posting the following on his Instagram page:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Khamzat Chimaev (@khamzat_chimaev)

“Rock ‘n’ roll baby 👊🏼💥🤪🤪🤪” – Chimaev captioned the photo.

‘The Wolf’ also shared the following on Instagram Live:

‘Borz’ will square off with Nate Diaz in Saturday’s highly anticipated UFC 279 event headliner. Do you think Khamzat Chimaev (11-0 MMA) will be able to keep his perfect record in check this weekend?