Khamzat Chimaev turns down fight against "too old" Nick Diaz; wants Nate instead
Khamzat Chimaev does not seem too interested in fighting MMA legend Nick Diaz. Instead, the Chechen-born Swede has his eyes set on Nick's younger brother Nate.
Taking to Twitter, Chimaev wrote:
"You're too old for this sh*t bro @nickdiaz209 Let me fight with your brother @NateDiaz209"
@espnmma @bokamotoESPN @nickdiaz209 You’re too old for this shit bro @nickdiaz209 👴🏻
Let me fight with your brother @NateDiaz209 👊🏼🤪
Earlier this week, news broke that Jorge Masivdal had been forced to pull out of his upcoming fight against Leon Edwards at UFC 269. Chimaev, to no one's surprise, asked to step in on short notice against 'Rocky'.
When MMA journalist Brett Okamoto posted about Chimaev's willingness to fight the Englishman on Instagram, Nick Diaz commented underneath it, showing interest in returning to action.
Nick Diaz wants in for December 👀
(via @bokamotoESPN, @nickdiaz209) https://t.co/wXrw6oXUWO
Nick Diaz recently made his return to the UFC after a six-year layoff. The 38-year-old took on fellow MMA veteran Robbie Lawler in a five-round contest at UFC 266. Diaz lost the fight via TKO in the third round.
Dana White wants to make Khamzat Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz
After his stellar performance at UFC 267, Khamzat Chimaev called out UFC superstar Nate Diaz for a fight.
.@KChimaev sends a message to @NateDiaz209 and @GamebredFighter after his win at #UFC267:
"[Diaz], let's see who is the real gangster. … [Masvidal] has some bad motherf*cking belt or something. I'm going to take everything."
Watch full video: youtu.be/sq2oBmLtFgU https://t.co/JyvqqsxVlf
UFC president Dana White also seemed excited about the potential matchup. However, Diaz doesn't seem to share the same enthusiasm about the potential matchup with 'Borz'.
Nate Diaz is seemingly not impressed by talk of a fight with Khamzat Chimaev.
📹 via (@NateDiaz209) on Instagram https://t.co/mXlLrdVbvD
Many argued that White was intentionally trying to put Diaz against a tough fighter like Chimaev due to the fact it would be the Stockton native's last fight on his UFC contract.
During an appearance on the Pardon My Take podcast, the UFC president explained his reasoning for the matchup.
"Robbie [Fox] was telling me the fans were saying, 'You're throwing him to the wolves.' He's lost three of his last four and they said that since he's only got one fight left on his contract we're trying to throw him to the wolves or whatever. He's lost three of his last four. So what are you saying if he loses this one against Khamzat Chimaev, this would be the one that would devalue him? Should I look for a fight that's... it's not what we do. We put the best against the best and when you look at a guy like Nate Diaz and you say he lost three of his last four, he lost against bad motherf****rs."
Catch Dana White's comments in the video below: