Khamzat Chimaev could have continued cutting weight for his botched fight with Nate Diaz at UFC 279 - according to veteran MMA referee John McCarthy.
Chimaev, 28, was supposed to serve as the opponent for Diaz's final UFC fight this past weekend, but their main event clash was scrapped after Chimaev missed weight by 7.5lb. Chimaev went on to submit Kevin Holland inside two minutes in their catchweight fight, whilst Diaz exited the UFC on a high by tapping out fellow veteran Tony Ferguson.
UFC boss Dana White said they knew Chimaev was having problems making the 170lb limit and was told to stopping cutting weight by doctors in the early hours of Friday morning. Chimaev insisted he would have kept cutting weight if it wasn't for the doctors advice, but McCarthy has labelled his excuse as "bull****".