Hakeem Dawodu: “He has holes in his game. He likes to get hit”

LAS VEGAS – UFC 279 Chimaev vs Diaz takes place at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, September 10, 2022.

In the main event, we will see a welterweight thriller that will see undefeated #3 ranked contender Khamzat Chimaev (11-0) fighting out of Stockholm, Sweden by way of Chechnya, Russia battle perennial fan favorite Nate Diaz (21-13) fighting out of Stockton, Calif.

Hakeem Dawodu sat in front of reporters at Wednesday’s news press conference and you can watch the interview in the video above. He talks about his opponent Julian Erosa and where he can capitalize come Saturday night.

“One thing I noticed is he’s tall – he’s 6-foot-1,” Dawodu said. “The second thing I noticed, he seems to have decent cardio. And the third thing I noticed is he seems to like to scrap. But as well, I look at his weaknesses. I saw that he got knocked out by Julio Arce, which I felt like I had no problems with him. I see that he’s a little bit sloppy. He has holes in his game. He likes to get hit.

“I think that’s just a bad recipe for me. I’m the least-hit featherweight of all time, and I’m a very high-level striker, former world champion in muay Thai, very high wrestling defense, my grappling is always getting better. So I see myself finishing this fight in a number of different ways. But just because I’ve beaten guys that have beaten him and he’s had his setbacks, I’m not taking this fight lightly.”

“After this fight, I’ve got some big names that I want to call out and get myself back in the rankings system and start making my title run,” Dawodu said. “I feel like my time is now.”

UFC 279 Chimaev vs Diaz takes place at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, Sept. 10, with the main card at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on ESPN+ PPV. The prelims will be seen on ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT with the night’s action starting at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT with Early Prelims on ESPN+ (English and Spanish) and UFC Fight Pass.

UFC 279 Chimaev vs. Diaz Fight Card:

MAIN CARD

• Khamzat Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz
• Tony Ferguson vs. Li Jingliang
• Kevin Holland vs. Danial Rodriguez
• Irene Aldana vs. Macy Chiasson
• Johnny Walker vs. Ion Cutelaba

Preliminary Card:

• Hakeem Dawodu vs. Julian Erosa
• Jailton Almeida vs. Anton Turkalj
• Denis Tiuliulin vs. Jamie Pickett
• Jake Collier vs. Chris Barnett
• Norma Dumont vs. Danyelle Wolf
• Chad Anheliger vs. Alatengheili
• Melissa Martinez vs. Elise Reed
• Darian Weeks vs. Yohan Lainesse

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Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.