Nevada State Athletic Commission to investigate UFC 279 press conference incident for possible discipline

The Nevada State Athletic Commission plans to investigate the UFC 279 backstage press conference scuffle.

On Thursday of fight week, the UFC was hosting a press conference for Chimaev-Diaz, Ferguson-Jingliang, and Holland-Rodriguez. However, there was an incident backstage that forced White and the UFC to cancel it as White said it was a sh*tshow.

“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 crowd who attended the UFC 279 press conference…

“There was multiple, crazy, I don’t even know what to call it. However many years, 22 years, however long I’ve been doing this, we’ve never had an incident like today,” White added to the media. “All hell broke loose out here. I don’t even know, we stopped it but we didn’t do a good job of not letting it happen.”

The UFC released some clips of the incident showing Khamzat Chimaev and Kevin Holland going at it backstage, with Nate Diaz then getting into it. Although no one got hurt the NSAC does plan to investigate for possible discipline for everyone involved.

On Monday, the NSAC released a public statement on the UFC 279 press conference incident (h/t MMAJunkie):

“Nevada State Athletic Commission Chairman Stephen J. Cloobeck, and Executive Director Jeff Mullen are aware that the UFC Press Conference on Thursday, September 8, 2022, was cancelled midway through the event. Early reports indicate that an altercation took place prior to and during the press conference, and possibly involved licensed fighters and their associates.

“The Chairman has been in communications with UFC executives regarding the events of September 8 . At this time, the UFC is working with the Nevada Athletic Commission on a full investigation into this incident. If the Nevada Athletic Commission determines that licensees acted improperly, we will initiate appropriate disciplinary action against all involved.

“Although “trash talking” between competitive athletes is common, any escalation into physical altercations may discredit the sport of unarmed combat and is wholly unacceptable. Further, such behavior may expose participants to both civil and criminal liability. The Nevada Athletic Commission will act strongly and decisively to safeguard and elevate unarmed combat in Nevada.

“The Nevada Athletic Commission will strictly discipline all licensees for all incidents of physical violence between athletes outside the ring or cage, up to and including purse forfeiture, revocation or suspension of any current license, denial of applications for new applicants, or denying future license renewals.”

As of right now, it remains uncertain if any of the UFC 279 fighters involved will be fined or suspended for their press conference incident.

Do you think any UFC 279 fighters should be fined/suspended for the press conference incident?