Khamzat Chimaev and Nate Diaz
A whole lot of unannounced fights including Israel Adesanya vs Jared Cannonier, and Nate Diaz vs Khamzat Chimaev was leaked when Dana White gave the Pivot podcast a tour of UFC offices
The UFC’s plans for International Fight Week just got a whole lot more interesting. Fans were worried about the fight week, considering that all big superstars of the organization were either sidelined, or had fought already. But looks like the UFC has got some extensive mega plans, that includes Stockton superstar Nate Diaz.
Nate Diaz has been importuning the UFC for a fight against Dustin Poirier- a fight that in most likelihood will be his last in the company. Diaz has some major plans outside the company, details of which are still unknown. If experts are to be believed, the UFC top brass does not want to book Diaz in a fight in which he has significant or even slight advantage over his opponent.
On a recent episode of the Pivot podcast, Dana White serendipitously gave fans a bit better look at just what the UFC has in mind. Notably, a series of mock-up fight cards at UFC offices—which include a planned middleweight title fight between champ Israel Adesanya and top contender Jared Cannonier, along with the return of Khamzat Chimaev against none other than Nate Diaz.
This is the second time the UFC has tried to book this fight, since Diaz turned down the fight last time stating the the Chechen hasn’t fought elite competition yet. If the rumors are true. Chimaev caught Diaz’s attention with his showing against Gilbert Burns.
Although none of these plans are concrete or have been set in motion yet, the prospect of Diaz’s return against a young upcoming warrior has garnered mixed reactions.
Lightweight champion Charles Oliveira has seen his fair share of both victories and losses inside the octagon but has never been on a dominant run, with a career salient through his inconsistency. The UFC fighter with the most finishes inside the octagon, has himself been finished quite a few times.
Nate Diaz is one of those fighters that even when he loses, his stock values soar high, thanks to his ‘kill or be killed’ attitude towards the fight game. Diaz has been severely critical of fighters who get finished inside the octagon, especially black belts in jiu-jitsu who lose their fights via submission. A multi-time world champion. Charles was famously submitted by Anthony Pettis via guillotine choke, and Diaz used that moment in history to poke fun at the lightweight king.
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