Nate Diaz made his position clear when he revealed that he turned down a matchup against Khamzat Chimaev because of the unbeaten welterweight’s lack of UFC experience.
And that’s just fine with Dana White — even if the UFC president isn’t putting much stock into the logic Diaz used to explain why the Chimaev fight is beneath him.
“Listen, everybody in this business, everybody in this company, is here because they belong here,” White told TMZ. “There are no real rookies, per se, here.
“There are guys with more experience and some guys with some less experience. Khamzat Chimaev is one of those guys that’s willing to fight anybody. In multiple weight classes. On short notice. He’s doing wrestling matches. If it’s a fight, he’s in and he wants to fight you. And that’s the reality. People can spin Khamzat however they want to — and I don’t blame them.”
Diaz called Chimaev a “rookie” when speaking with TMZ and explained that he turned down the bout because he was shooting for a bigger target than an up-and-comer who owns just four UFC wins. With one fight left on his UFC deal, Diaz said he was eyeing a top-5 ranked fighter for the final bout of his contract and suggested that Chimaev continue to work his way up the ladder by fighting “new people,” such as Diaz’s teammate Nick Maximov.
Chimaev is currently the No. 11 ranked welterweight on MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings, however the unbeaten Chechen has already developed a large fan following after tearing through his first four UFC bouts with a savagery rarely seen in the octagon. Thus far, Chimaev has outstruck his opposition 254-2 in total strikes and 112-1 in significant strikes while cruising to lopsided wins over the likes of Gerald Meerschaert and Li Jingliang.
The 27-year-old welterweight even recently shut out UFC middleweight contender Jack Hermansson in an exhibition wrestling match, and has since resumed calling out seemingly every notable name in the sport, both past and present.
So regardless of the reasoning, White can’t fault Diaz for not jumping at the matchup.
“Listen man, Khamzat is a straight murderer,” White said. “He’s a killer. He’s an absolute savage. And I don’t blame anybody for not wanting to fight Khamzat Chimaev.”
Dana is correct.
I also think over the decades there have been many assassins’ and murderers like Tank on the roster. Dana sees something crazy in Chimaev i guess
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Remember the crazy shit he’s said about money makers over the years? Chimaev is a hell of a figher, don’t get me wrong. But this is just Dana promoting a future star that will make everyone a lot of money
Sure. However, let’s see what he says when Cumshot calls out Conor when Conor is back.Conor already “accepted”
good id rather Khamzat fight a relevant fighter in top 10 .Diaz not even top 20 now
Well Khamzat is now top 5 so is Nate willing to fight him now? Didn’t think so.
Remember what Rory Mac did to Nate? Picture that but far worse, Nate gets ragdolled and stopped.
It’s a money fight because people love Diaz for some reason even if he is just a journeyman who will never sniff a title
agreed, but diaz would have gotten his name out there a lot and i think nate just doesnt want to boost a guy who is going to smash him
ufc needs a fat guy division for guyys like joey and this legend:
Joey Diaz is garbage and an even bigger beneficiary of Joe Rogan’s friendship than Brendon Schaub.
Diaz is holding out for money. Dana doesn’t like dealing with non-broke fighters, he finds it easier to work with the guys who would fight God himself for 30k/30k.
It’s a piece of shit move matching them up anyway.
Khamzat v Colby is the fight next. Its a no brainer for both guys and the UFC
Have some respect for Diaz even if him and Nick are perennial under achievers and complainers. Give him a mid tier fighter with a decent name for his send off then let Nate go. Nothing lost for the UFC at all and the die hard Diaz fans get another great moment for the MMA memories
I disagree. Conor vs Nate is the obvious fight to make. Edit: all this other noise is just bickering over percentages.
Bullshit I hope you are trolling.
I saw Shaub and Diaz live on the same night - Joe Rogan and friends at the store and to even compare Shaub and Joey in any way in terms of comedy is fucking retarded.
The difference is - Joey is a genuine good person and he is very funny. He talks some shit but he is the furthest thing from a clout chaser money grabbing hype beast faggot like Shaub.
Perfect idea man
Nate needs to fight another banger. We already missed out on Nate vs Perry.
Joey Diaz, the comedy genius who’s big bit was dancing around naked with fat gut and little dick. Not only that but he elevated it by dressing as elvis or in a karate gi. Thats comedy genius right there. Now say cocksucker repeatedly while telling some old scumbag drug story. Almost as funny as his constant stories about working out at the gym and doing bjj. Stop lying Joey because if you were doing half of what younaay you do then you wouldnt be the morbidly obese sloth you are.
If he wasnt old friends with Rogan he wouldnt have been on the man show or the podcasts and we probably wouldnt have to deal with the wheezing mutterings of a delusional lifelong junkie in the early stages of dementia.