Nate Diaz has hit out at The Rock's new "s***" shoes while pulling them off his feet at the UFC 279 weigh-in.
Diaz was set to face Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279 on Saturday night but he will instead face Tony Ferguson after his Chechen rival missed weight, tipping the scales at 7.5lb over the welterweight limit. It will be the final fight of Diaz's career in the UFC, where he has generated huge popularity and interest for several years.
During the weigh-in, Diaz was visibly frustrated with Chimaev's actions, which threatened to jeopardise the last bout of his UFC contract from taking place. He let out another outburst of frustration when he became angered by the pair of shoes that he was wearing, which were designed by actor and former WWE star Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.
Do you think Nate Diaz will beat Tony Ferguson? Let us know in the comments section below!
“These shoes f***ing suck! Look at these shoes. They made me put this sh** on. F*** these shoes!” Diaz shouted while ripping them off, much to the interviewer's shock on the broadcast. The Rock teamed up with sports gear manufacturer Under Armour to release his own signature shoe line, which has proved extremely popular.
Diaz has history with the American actor, who presented his rival Jorge Masvidal with the 'BMF' belt when he was defeated in an epic battle against 'Gamebred' back in 2019. The UFC veteran hit out at Johnson in his post-fight speech, criticising his involvement in the presentation of the title.
”F**k The Rock too, man,” Diaz said after losing to Masvidal at UFC 244. “That motherf***er over here playing me. See him over here smiling with Masvidal. Should have had Mike Tyson handing out a belt if anybody. I don’t give a f*** about any belt anyway, but he can get it too.”
The famous personality then issued a response to Diaz shortly after his criticism, admitting he was not surprised by the unkind words from the promotion's departing star. “I wasn’t surprised at Nate’s comments because that’s the Nate Diaz that we all know and love,” Johnson said. “He is as advertised. Nate, he gets it.
"He knows that me and Jorge, we’re boys, we’re from Miami. We have a lot of deep connections down there. A lot of the fighters we know, a lot of the coaches and trainers that we know, a lot of the gyms that we’ve been to down there. So there’s a connection, so no I was totally fine with it. He gets it.”
It has been a year of frustration so far for Diaz, who has yet to fight in the UFC since losing to Leon Edwards in June 2021. He desperately pleaded with the UFC to terminate his contract after waiting months for his final opponent to be confirmed, but it now appears he will be able to fight out his final rounds and pursue a career in the boxing ring.
