Justin Gaethje has accused Nate Diaz of being a "jealous b****" after he disputed Gaethje's claim that Khabib Nurmagomedov went through hell during his previous title shot.
Gaethje will challenge lightweight champion Charles Oliveira this weekend at UFC 274. The American star previously challenged for the undisputed crown against Nurmagomedov in 2020, where he was submitted in the second round before his rival announced his retirement.
Diaz responded to Gaethje's claim that Nurmagomedov had to walk through hell to defeat him, by posting on social media: "This guy got triangle choked from the mount. What is he talking about?" Gaethje quickly responded, tweeting: 'I'm not your bro you jealous b****."
Gaethje defeated Michael Chandler last time out to place himself back into pole position for a shot at the 155lb title. The leading contender has claimed Oliveira will have to "walk through hell" in the same way as Nurmagomedov did during their Middle East bout.
“On May 7, at 9:30 mountain time, I’m gonna be perfect and I’ll be perfect for 25 minutes,” Gaethje told Megan Olivi in a recent interview. “If he can beat me, then kudos to him. But he’s gonna have to walk through hell like Khabib did. He’s not as powerful, he doesn’t have the structure, he doesn’t have the frame, and he doesn’t have explosive takedowns.
“He’s going to have find me making a mistake, overreaching, and try to get into a grappling situation. Outside that, he better be praying everyday that he gets me to the ground. If not, it’s going to be the same night as [Michael] Chandler, except five rounds. If I went five rounds with Chandler, he would have died and that’s the truth. So, I’m glad we didn’t go five rounds.”
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Gaethje's gruelling war with Chandler was his only fight last year but he will be hoping that his next outing will finally provide him with title glory. And Tristar coach Firas Zahabi believes Gaethje is capable of defeating Oliveira in the latter rounds after noticing a chink in his armour.
“I love the heart of Justin Gaethje and I think that’s the only chink in Oliveira’s armour is that he’s been in hard fights in the past,” Zahabi said on his YouTube channel. "He kind of slowed down a little bit and let the fight get away from him. I think it’s going to be a good opportunity for Gaethje to win the last few rounds so that’s how I see it.”
