Referee, Judges Selected for Khamzat Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz at UFC 279

Veteran official Marc Goddard will be the third man in the Octagon when Khamzat Chimaev and Nate Diaz square off in the UFC 279 main event next month.

Goddard was selected during a Nevada State Athletic Commission meeting on Tuesday. Notable headlining assignments for Goddard this year include Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway 3 at UFC 276; Jiri Prochazka vs. Glover Teixeira at UFC 275 and Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje at UFC 274. He will be paid $2,500.

Meanwhile, Derek Cleary, Sal D’Amato and Ron McCarthy will serve as cageside judges for the welterweight bout. Each will earn $2,000 for their work.

Chimaev appears to be on the verge of securing a welterweight title shot with victories in his first five promotional appearances. The Allstars Training Center representative last appeared at UFC 273, where he defeated Gilbert Burns via unanimous decision on April 9.

One of the sport’s most popular fighters, Diaz is entering the final bout of his UFC contract. The 37-year-old Stockton, Calif., native is coming off a five-round unanimous decision defeat to Leon Edwards at UFC 263 in June 2021.

UFC 279 takes place on Sept. 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will also include a welterweight tilt pitting Tony Ferguson against Jingliang Li.