"Everyone was running from me" - Khamzat Chimaev claims that his win over Nate Diaz will open gates for bigger opponents by making him the "money fight" in the UFC
Khamzat Chimaev is set to headline his first UFC pay-per-view on September 10 against Nate Diaz in Las Vegas. It's a fight that could elevate Chimaev to superstar status, which would be nice in his eyes because he's sick of everyone running from him.
In a new interview with The Mac Life, Chimaev was asked if he'd heard that Jorge Masvidal wanted to fight him. 'Borz' replied:
"No, I didn't see that, actually, but I don't think so he wants to fight. But now everyone understands when I beat that guy [Diaz], money fight is me. Only me, you know? Everyone was running from me because I'm a bad fight for everyone. Now they know it's money. Money fight is me. Conor's away, he's on some movie s***. Khabib is out. Israel don't make good fights. Nobody want to see that guy fight. Now only me make real fights ... I think I'm already the biggest star in the UFC. Nobody wanna see those guys."
Watch Khamzat Chimaev's full interview with The Mac Life below:
Khamzat Chimaev is undoubtedly one of the hottest rising stars in the UFC right now. Recently, Dana White was asked who he thought might be the next Conor McGregor-level fighter, and he dropped Chimaev's name.
It's a bit early to know for sure, though. UFC 279 will be a good measure. Nate Diaz has already proven his ability to sell pay-per-views when placed against opponents like McGregor and Masvidal. The UFC clearly wants to re-create that million-buy magic with Chimaev in September.
Nate Diaz could have easily waited for the Conor McGregor trilogy fight and made a boatload full of money.
Instead, he said let me fight Khamzat Chimaev.
This isn’t an act. Nate Diaz is about that life. https://t.co/HuYd7iNcqP
Khamzat Chimaev says Nate Diaz is no longer "that guy that beat McGregor"
Nate Diaz has spent his entire career being underestimated by opponents, and Khamzat Chimaev may be falling into that particular trap leading up to their UFC 279 fight. In his new interview with The Mac Life, 'Borz' said:
“Yeah, of course [I’m surprised he accepted the fight], because he himself tells the interviews this a bad matchup for him. Like, I can smash that guy easy. The guy is getting older. He’s not that guy that beat McGregor. He’s not that young guy. This is his last fight. He’s going to lose this fight and go do some boxing s***. I’ll kill him, I’ll kick his a**, and let him go.”
Talk like this is nothing new for Chimaev. He's said something similar about every fighter he's faced, and every fighter he may face in the future. Sportsbooks certainly agree with his fight prediction: he's a wild -1000 favorite against Diaz, who currently sits as a +800 underdog.