"His style of grappling is the exact opposite" - Brendan Schaub claims Khamzat Chimaev is likely to "mop the floor with" Nate Diaz at UFC 279
Former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub has shared his prediction for the upcoming fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Nate Diaz.
Schaub thinks that if the UFC 279 headliner goes past three rounds, Diaz could perform well. However, he believes that, in all likelihood, Chimaev will manhandle the Stockton native in the contest.
Giving a reasoning for his comments during The Schaub Show, 'Big Brown' said that Chimaev's grappling style will work well against Diaz, who is a 3rd degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
"Nate's best chance, I think, is on the feet, with his volume punching and wearing Khamzat out... This is a five-round fight. Nate Diaz gets better after three [rounds]...Tthose championship rounds could be where Nate Diaz flourishes, man... Early on, when Khamzat is not sweaty and he has energy, his advantage is on the feet and the ground. He's going to ragdoll Nate Diaz around that octagon. He's going to take him down whenever he wants and that ground-and-pound and his style of grappling is the exact opposite of Nate Diaz's... [A] break-you-at-all-costs style and that is a nightmare for a traditional jiu-jitsu guy."
You can listen to Brendan Schaub talk about the matchup on his YouTube channel below:
Chimaev vs. Diaz will serve as the main event of UFC 279, making a rare occasion when a non-title fight headlines a UFC pay-per-view event.
Nate Diaz speaks on the possiblity of a third fight with Conor McGregor
Diaz believes a trilogy fight with Irish superstar Conor McGregor is still on the cards.
In a recent conversation with Inside Fighting, the Stockton native said that although the timing is not ideal at the moment, the fight will definitely take place at some point in the future.
"The timing's not on right now. We'll worry about that later. It's for sure gonna happen at some point... Yeah, at some point. Get back on it and get back on what he's got to do, whatever that is. It's like, when we match up we're going to match up. But we ain't going nowhere."
Watch Diaz talk about a trilogy fight with McGregor below:
Diaz only has one fight left on his UFC contract, which will take place at UFC 279. There is a real possibility that the 37-year-old will part ways with the promotion after the event.
So, despite Diaz's comments, there is a good chance that the third fight between him and the Irishman might not come to fruition.