"He can mess around and make any fight tough" - Anthony Smith praises Nate Diaz's "ability to make people look bad," but expects Khamzat Chimaev to have "a relatively easy time"
With the highly anticipated clash between Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev fast approaching, Anthony Smith has given his prediction for how the match-up will play out.
'Lionheart' is a veteran of the UFC with 18 out of his 53 fights in MMA coming inside the octagon. The one-time light heavyweight title contender suffered a broken ankle during his brawl with Magomed Ankalaev last weekend, and will now look to recover and push for another shot at the 205lbs belt.
While discussing the UFC 279 main event, Anthony Smith insisted that although many could see this as a relatively easy matchup for Khamzat Chimaev, the experience and grit of Nate Diaz have the ability to "make any fight tough." Smith said in an MMA Pros Pick video on James Lynch's YouTube channel:
"It's a pretty tough way to go out the door. As much as I can say Chimaev is the more powerful striker, he's the more technical guy, he's the better wrestler, the only thing I can definitively give you a place that Nate Diaz has an advantage is his conditioning and maybe his submission ability. But Nate Diaz is Nate Diaz, he can mess around and make any fight tough for anybody... Nate's got this uncanny ability to make people look bad, so there's a good chance that could happen... I wouldn't be shocked to see Nate turn this into an ugly dog fight... But, chances are, Chimaev has a relatively easy time."
At 37, the welterweight is most likely coming to the end of his MMA career, and in true Nate Diaz fashion, he will be facing off against one of the scariest prospects the sport has seen in recent times.
Check out what Anthony Smith had to say about the 170lbs showdown in the video below:
Does a win over Nate Diaz earn Khamzat Chimaev a title shot?
After his Fight of the Year contender win over Gilbert Burns just four months ago, Khamzat Chimaev is potentially one impressive victory away from his first shot at UFC gold.
Although Diaz is unranked and on the tail-end of his career, another dominant win for 'Borz' would skyrocket his worth and without a doubt earn him a date with the welterweight titleholder.
Chimaev has expressed his interest in moving back to middleweight and dethroning Israel Adesanya. However, the undefeated 28-year-old will most likely be thrust into a shot against either Kamaru Usman or Leon Edwards for the 170lbs strap before being able to do so.