You think they'd have wanted to give him another veteran instead of feeding him to a young wolf - Hakeem Dawodu on UFC's recent treatment of Nate Diaz

Hakeem Dawodu will fight Julian Erosa in the final bout of the prelim card at UFC 279 this Saturday. The pay-per-view will be broadcast live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will see longtime veteran Nate Diaz take on Khamzat Chimaev in what may be the Stockton native's last fight in the promotion.

It’s official. Hakeem Dawodu (@meanhakeemko) will face Julian Erosa in a featherweight clash at UFC 279 on Sept 10 in Las Vegas. 😡 #UFC279 #GP https://t.co/qtfJnoFNJa

Ever since Diaz vs. Chimaev was announced, fighters and fans have had rave reactions to the matchup. Nate Diaz has spent over 15 years in the UFC and, like any veteran, deserves to leave on a high. Khamzat Chimaev, however, is an undefeated prospect and one of the most intimidating fighters currently signed to the promotion.

Speaking to Andrew Whitelaw in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, 'Mean' Hakeem Dawodu gave his thoughts on the fight. Expressing his admiration for Diaz and reacting to the former TUF winner saying he didn't want to fight Chimaev, Dawodu said:

"It's sad... How you not going to love Nate Diaz, man? The guy is, win or lose, he's a funny guy... It'd be weird to see him fight in any other organization just because I've been watching him for so long. Him and his brother... I used to look up to. He's got a real unique style, just even the way he talks, it's iconic, you know?

If that's the truth, if that's really how it went down, that's sad because he's done so much. Look how many fans this guy has got. You'd think they would've wanted to give him another veteran like himself instead of feeding him to a young wolf, because personally I love me some Nate Diaz."

Many others have echoed Dawodu's sentiments over the past several weeks.

Watch our exclusive interview with Hakeem Dawodu below:

Alexander Volkanovski not the featherweight G.O.A.T for Hakeem Dawodu

'Mean' Hakeem fights at 145lbs, a division that has seen some iconic names. From longtime champion Jose Aldo to Conor McGregor and former titleholder Max Holloway. However, the current featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski has separated himself as truly elite with his last fight against Holloway. Add to that, 'The Great' sits atop the UFC's pound-for-pound list following Kamaru Usman's loss to Leon Edwards.

Alexander Volkanovski is the new #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC based on the updated rankings.

Usman falls to #4 behind Volkanovski, Adesanya and Oliveira. https://t.co/X3sBsLgtPu

While many have hailed the Australian as the greatest featherweight in history, Hakeem Dawodu believes that title belongs to Jose Aldo. He also believes he's a bad matchup for the reigning champion:

"The greatest featherweight of all time, you still got to give it to Jose Aldo, then Max Holloway. And, you know, people can say what they want, but I think I'm a bad matchup for him [Volkanovski]. I think I'm too big for him, I think I'm too lengthy for him. I think he will have to wrestle me.

Even though Max got the height on him, Max only has a 69" reach. I got a 73.5-74" reach. I hit too hard, I'm too smart, I'm the least hit featherweight of all time, that's my stat. I think I'm a bad matchup for the champ, I really do."

Although Hakeem Dawodu has yet to enter the featherweight rankings, he's only suffered two losses across his eight UFC fights. A win over Erosa could earn him a spot in the division's top 15.