Khamzat Chimaev v Nate Diaz predictions and UFC 279 betting tips

Free UFC betting tips, predictions and analysis for UFC 279 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 1am Sunday

Best bets

Khamzat Chimaev v Nate Diaz - over 2.5 rounds
2pts 6-4 bet365

Li Jingliang to win by KO, TKO, DQ or Submission
2pts 11-10 bet365

UFC 279 preview

Nate Diaz fight week is never short of drama or excitement and, with this expected to be his final trip to the octagon, there's even more hype than usual as he prepares to face Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279.

Diaz has been sitting on the final fight of his contract since losing to Leon Edwards in June 2021 and he faces a mammoth task in trying to sign off with a win.

Chimaev, ranked number three in the welterweight division, has risen through the UFC ranks at a meteoric rate, winning each of his five bouts to take his overall record to 11-0.

A shot at the title should come next if he avoids a slip-up against Diaz, who famously halted Conor McGregor's 15-fight win streak in 2016 after just 11 days' notice.

One thing you can always be certain of from Diaz is a tremendous amount of heart and he's gone the distance 14 times during his 33-fight career, including three of the last four, so he should make Chimaev work for the win.

The co-main could also spell the end of the line for another veteran of the UFC when Tony Ferguson takes on Li Jingliang.

Ferguson, now 38, just doesn't look like the same man who held the interim lightweight belt in 2017 and he's riding a four-fight losing streak with two of those defeats coming via KO or TKO.

Li is looking to climb up the welterweight rankings and, having sealed a TKO win over Muslim Salikhov last time out, looks set to make it back-to-back victories.

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