Although the UFC may be interested in making the fight happen, Nate Diaz has zero interest in a scrap with “rookie” Khamzat Chimaev.
The notion of a fight pitting Octagon superstar Diaz vs Chimaev picked up steam early in November when UFC President Dana White publicly stated he was interested in the fight and planned to try and sell the idea to the Stockton native.
With one fight left on his UFC contract, the booking makes a lot of sense from a business standpoint for the organization. Chimaev (10-0) has quickly become one of the promotion’s most popular up and comers, off a dominant four-fight Octagon run where he has more wins than strikes landed on him. His dominant wrestling and size would be a major problem for Diaz (20-13), who has long had deficiencies in that area of the sport, and a win over the 36-year-old fan favorite could be a watershed moment for the Chechen talent.
Nate Diaz does not want to hear his name coming from Khamzat Chimaev’s mouth
However, Diaz is none too interested in a matchup with a fighter who broke into the top-15 for the first time following his win at UFC 267 in Oct. In his mind, Chimaev should be competing against athletes in a similar experience bracket, and any established top-5 name that even considers the idea of a fight with the Russian is a “b*tch too.”
“They’re coming at me with [Chimaev], and I’m like hold on, don’t disrespect me like that. You’re gonna try and offer me a fight with a rookie. You got four fights in the UFC, don’t even talk my name,” Diaz told TMZ Sports Wednesday. … “Anybody in the higher level even playing along to this Khamzat sh*t, you’re b*tch too, taking that sh*t. You’re a new rookie, deal with new people.”
Although Diaz would not offer up an opponent name when asked, he made it clear he wants top-10 or better talent as soon as possible. And in a perfect world, he would land a spot on January’s UFC 270 pay-per-view card in Anaheim, Calif.
“I’m trying to fight somebody in the UFC, like ASAP, but nobody wants to fight. I’ve been trying to get something busy for a minute. … Anybody in the top-10. I’ve been trying to fight and in any weight division. Whoever wants it. But they all wanna keep their mouth shut because they’re all scared,” he said.
“Let’s do it January [at UFC 270].”
Diaz has not fought since a five-round decision loss to Leon Edwards in June. The two-division talent has lost four of his last five in the UFC.
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