"He wanted to fight Francis Ngannou, enough said" - Dana White dismisses idea that Nate Diaz was forced to take Khamzat Chimaev bout, disagrees with fight odds
The UFC has announced that Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev will face each other at UFC 279. The matchup has been questioned by many, with Diaz fans finding it disrespectful of his time at the UFC that he has to potentially go out against one of the hottest fighters in the promotion.
UFC President Dana White has repeatedly refuted any such notion that Diaz was cornered into accepting a fight that few others were even willing to consider. He was asked about the same in an interview to which he responded:
"He [Diaz] wanted to fight Francis Ngannou! Enough said. But Nate wants to fight everybody, he'll fight anybody. That's who he is. Nate Diaz has that gangster mentality, Khamzat Chimaev has that gangster mentality, and people love that shit!"
The UFC president remarked on how fearless Diaz is and how his willingness to fight extends beyond any weight consideration. Khamzat Chimaev, on the other hand, has proven to be equally fearless with 10 of his 11 professional wins being finishes.
Chimaev is undefeated in his professional MMA career and is currently on a five-fight win streak in the UFC. This will be one of his sterner tests after having successfully seen through an incredible scrap with Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 that won Fight of the Night.
Check out Dana White's full interview here:
Dana White discusses plans to build upon the UFC 279 card and talks about how in the UFC, nobody should be as big of a favourite as Khamzat Chimaev is. https://t.co/ZU5f9APm8N
Nate Diaz will look to end his storied career on a high
Nate Diaz has had a mixed bag of results since moving back to welterweight and has only fought four times since 2016. Three of those four fights have resulted in losses and perhaps a frustrated Diaz has wanted out of the promotion to pursue more lucrative fights.
One such possibility is to fight YouTuber-turned-boxer, Jake Paul. The two have had confrontational exchanges on social media and Diaz has demanded a release from the UFC to square up against 'The Problem Child'.
However, his sole focus at the moment will be to give his fans a fitting last fight. Dana White, with whom both the Diaz brothers have had their tiffs, was appreciative of Diaz's resilience and stated that he would by no means rule him out:
"This is a sport where nobody is that big of a favorite. Anybody can win at any given time. Nate Diaz is durable, he's been in there with everybody. And it's his last fight going out, nobody is that big of an underdog. Not in the UFC."
Regardless, if you think this matchup is unfair to either one of the fighters, this bout promises to deliver plenty of action.