"Don't tell me Nate can't win this fight"- Chael Sonnen explains why the fans and media shouldn't count Nate Diaz out ahead of his fight with Khamzat Chimaev
As we put one event behind us and head onto UFC 279, Chael Sonnen released a video urging the fans and media to stop overlooking Nate Diaz ahead of his highly-anticipated matchup against Khamzat Chimaev.
With the aftermath of UFC 278 opening up the door for a potential trilogy fight between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards, 'Borz' now finds himself in a tough situation within the 170lb division. A win in his next outing was thought to have earned the prospect a title shot, but that may not be the case anymore.
Without dismissing Khamzat Chimaev's ability in the cage, Chael Sonnen insisted that Nate Diaz is no pushover. Sonnen said:
"You think Nate Diaz didn't know he's gonna be an eight-to-one underdog... You think Nate didn't know that, he signed that contract anyway... Nate will knock you out on your feet.
Sonnen referred to the Diaz vs. Edwards fight and continued:
Nate almost knocked out and, in the last round, defeated and won over the now world champion. Do what you want with that, but please, please please please, just for me, just please, don't tell me Nate can't win this fight [against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279]."
After scoring a last-minute movie-like headkick knockout of arguably the best welterweight of all time, Leon Edwards was crowned the UFC welterweight champion. He is only the second fighter from the United Kingdom to become a UFC champion.
But in his fight prior to the title shot, the Brit was rocked badly by Nate Diaz- who then proceeded to point at him mockingly. Diaz got dominated by Edwards in that fight and still almost finished the welterweight champion in the dying seconds.
Check out what Chael Sonnen had to say about the Stockton-native in the video below:
Can Nate Diaz cause problems for Khamzat Chimaev with his striking?
Throughout his 33-fight career, Diaz has only managed to earn five knockout victories, so is he capable of causing problems for the undefeated welterweight on the feet?
Khamzat Chimaev is known for his well-rounded game and proved in the Gilbert Burns fight that his chin is unquestionable.
While Diaz doesn't carry too much power in his hands, his durability often leads fighters to punch themselves out. His volume often overwhelms opponents, forcing them to either fall to a barrage of strikes or make a costly mistake and get caught in a submission.