Dana White has insisted a fight between Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev is the fight that UFC fans want to see.
Diaz was searching for an opponent for several months as he awaited a test for the final outing on his UFC contract. Several opponents were talked up by the American including Dustin Poirier and Vicente Luque but a fight failed to materialise.
However after making an emotional plea to be released from his deal, UFC president White found Diaz a fight with rising star Chimaev which will take place on September 10 at the T-Mobile Arena. The likes of UFC contender Leon Edwards and former fighter Dan Hardy have expressed their views against the match-up, which also concerned fans who claimed Chimaev could "kill" Diaz.
White has now admitted it took a long time to find Diaz his final opponent and has claimed critics don't have to watch the fight. “I love when fighters, or other people, or anybody else, gives us advice on this incredibly successful business that we’ve built,” White told Yahoo Sports. “It cracks me up.
So, I’m looking at [matching Diaz with] Francis Ngannou or Khamzat Chimaev, and a couple of 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 who is out there yapping has never dealt with the Diaz brothers. It’s a very unique experience.
"It takes a very long f***ing time. We got through it and here we are. It’s a very popular fight that people want to see, that people like and everybody’s getting what they want. Dan Hardy and Leon Edwards don’t have to watch it. They can go to the movies that night.”
What do you make of the fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Nate Diaz? Let us know in the comments section below
Chimaev has made a remarkable rise in the UFC and currently sits at No.3 in the 170lb rankings. The Chechen star recently defeated Gilbert Burns to record his fifth straight win and extend his undefeated record. Meanwhile Diaz has had a totally opposite run of form having just one win in his last four fights.
His last UFC victory came back in 2019 when he defeated Anthony Pettis and he had not won prior to that until 2016 when he picked up victory over Conor McGregor. 170lb title challenger Leon Edwards believes the UFC "f***** up" by making a fight between the pair. “If I had to put money on it I’d probably go Khamzat but I’d love Nate to get it done,” Edwards told media at UFC London.
“He’s done so much for the company and I wish they gave him a veteran, a nice fight to bow out to. To give an up-and-coming guy that’s had four or five fights in the UFC, and a wrestler guy as well — I think they f***** up. They should’ve gave him a better fight. But I would love Nate to get it done. But as I said, if I’m a betting man I’d probably go with Khamzat.”
