"Feeding one vet to an up and coming guy" - UFC welterweight Alex Morono feels Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev is a "strange" matchup
UFC welterweight Alex Morono has given his say on the highly anticipated clash between Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279 this September.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, the 31-year-old admitted that Chimaev will have the upper hand in what would be Nate Diaz's last fight on his contract:
"On one side of the coin, it's not the most competitive match-up. But two, it's also Nate. It's also kind of a strange match-up feeding one vet to an up and coming guy. But, what you going to do, it's a fight game. I think Khamzat can easily outwrestle him and I think that's what we'll get to see."
Meanwhile, Morono is on a three-fight win streak with an impressive showing over Mickey Gall in December 2021. He has now moved to 4-1 overall in his past five fights in the octagon, including wins over the now-retired Donald Cerrone and David Zawada.
Diaz will go into the fight as the underdog against the fast rising Chechen-born Swede, who's won all five of his fights since joining the UFC in 2020. However, the 39-year-old will want to bow out of a stellar career by pulling off a monumental win on September 10.
Watch Alex Morono on the Sportskeeda MMA Originals YouTube channel below:
Dana White hits back at criticism from fans after Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev fight announcement
After claims from fellow fighters that Diaz deserved a less threatening opponent in his final fight, UFC president Dana White has hit back. Speaking to Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, he stated:
"I love when fighters or other people or anybody else give us advice on this incredibly successful business that we've built, it cracks me up. So, I'm looking at Francis Ngannou or Khamzat Chimaev and a couple other ones that were not good either. I'm going to take Khamzat. I can tell you this, Leon Edwards, Dan Hardy and anybody else out there yapping has never dealt with the Diaz brothers."
Khamzat Chimaev says he’ll show Nate Diaz who the real gangster is. 😤
#UFC279 | Full story: bit.ly/3z9FZ0D https://t.co/zYvtAmQg2X
With the match-up set to be one of the biggest events of the year, both fighters will be looking to put on a show at the T-Mobile Arena. Moreover, a win for either in the welterweight clash will be a glittering highlight in their career.
Watch White talk about the Khamzat Chimaev-Nate Diaz clash below: