Khamzat Chimaev is a huge favourite going into his UFC 279 fight with Nate Diaz and the Chechen has been backed to win even if he doesn't train for the fight.
Chimaev, 28, meets Diaz in the main event of the pay-per-view card on September 10 in Las Vegas. The fight will serve as the last on Diaz's contract, with the Stockton native likely to depart the UFC after spending 15 years with the promotion. Diaz had been pushing for a fight since the start of this year in the hopes of exiting the UFC and many fans feel Diaz is being "sacrificed" by the promotion by facing Chimaev.
UFC middleweight Sean Strickland thinks Chiamev will walk through the "old man" Diaz, telling The Schmo : "I don't know, man... Do you have to get ready for Nate Diaz? The UFC just said, 'Hey [Khamzat Chimaev], we love you. Come f****ng beat up this old man.' I don't really think Khamzat needs to get ready for him. He's probably just gonna roll in, not even train, come off the couch, and just f****ng destroy him."
What are your thoughts on the UFC matching Nate Diaz up against Khamzat Chimaev? Let us know in the comments section below
UFC boss Dana White has defended the decision to match Diaz up against Chimaev in his swansong for the promotion. Recently crowned welterweight champion Leon Edwards and MMA analyst Dan Hardy have backed Chimaev to "kill" Diaz, but White has laughed at anyone writing the UFC veteran off.
“I love when fighters, or other people, or anybody else, gives us advice on this incredibly successful business that we’ve built,” he told Yahoo Sports. “It cracks me up. 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," White said of the matchmaking process. "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.”
Diaz has been told he could earn more money by facing YouTube star Jake Paul in boxing than staying in the UFC for another fight, even if he is to lose against Chimaev next month. White claims that Diaz has insisted he wouldn't face Paul as it would be "goofy", but those comments were contradicted by Diaz claiming he's "interested in anything" when asked about the fight.
