"He's gonna lose" - Former UFC fighter predicts outcome of UFC 279 main event between Nate Diaz and Tony Ferguson
Following last-minute changes to the UFC 279 main card, former UFC lightweight Kevin Lee has given his prediction on how he sees Nate Diaz versus Tony Ferguson playing out in the main event on September 10.
'The Motown Phenom' was released by the UFC last year and has found a new home in Eagle FC, Khabib Nurmagomedov's MMA promotion. On his company debut, despite suffering a torn ACL, the 30-year-old fought his way to a unanimous decision victory over MMA veteran Diego Sanchez.
In a post on social media, Kevin Lee revealed that he believed Nate Diaz was going to beat Khamzat Chimaev in the original UFC 279 headliner but has a different opinion now with Tony Ferguson stepping into the bout:
"I thought [Nate] Diaz was gonna beat Khamzat [Chimaev], but he's gonna lose to Tony [Ferguson]"
I thought Diaz was gonna beat Khazmat but he’s gonna lose to Tony twitter.com/theritedesign/…
In a close-fought battle between the two, 'El Cucuy' snatched a third-round submission win over Kevin Lee in 2017, capturing the interim lightweight title in the process.
Rather surprisingly, the NCWA wrestler expected Nate Diaz to beat Khamzat Chimaev, likely by overwhelming the less experienced fighter and piling on the pressure in the later rounds due to his freakishly good cardio.
Tony Ferguson provides a change of pace for the younger Diaz brother, but one he may not welcome. The 38-year-old is a dangerous fighter who aims to slice open opponents with elbows or sink in submissions while scrambling, which could both be available in this fight.
What happens to Nate Diaz following Tony Ferguson matchup?
Win or lose this weekend, it looks like Nate Diaz is done with the UFC and has started putting in the building blocks for his new fight promotion 'Real Fight, Inc.'.
As he moves closer to 40 years of age, the MMA legend will most likely start searching for big paydays, which won't be hard for him to find because of his name value.
Diaz has already been publicly offered big-money fights when his contract is up, and one option for the welterweight remains a boxing bout against the controversial Jake Paul.
The PFL and Bare Knuckle FC have also both openly stated their interest in the icon and could possibly give their man a bumper contract just to be a part of their roster.