Ariel Helwani says the UFC DRAGGED Nate Diaz before last contractual fight because Jake Paul was waiting ‘on the other side’
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Nate Diaz x Jake Paul
It was never an easy road till the end for Nate Diaz in the UFC, no matter how fun the journey was for the fans to watch from their side. Diaz fought his last UFC fight last weekend inside the T-Mobile Arena at UFC 279. Diaz was originally supposed to face future title contender Khamzat Chimaev in the main event, but due to Chimaev missing weight by a large margin of 8 pounds, Diaz got a new opponent booked on 24-hours notice, Tony Ferguson.
Diaz tapped out Ferguson, the former interim-UFC champion in the fourth round. Diaz came a long way to get his last UFC fight, which he was pleading for almost through the entirety of this year so far. First, it was supposed to be against Dustin Poirier, then there were rumours of booking of Diaz vs Ferguson fight on original terms and conditions, and finally, it was decided that Diaz would face Chimaev. At one point in time, Diaz was also ready to leave the UFC by leaving his final paycheck behind because of the frustration he was getting from the company.
Also Read: Jake Paul feels Nate Diaz was “Near Flawless” with his final UFC Fight against Tony Ferguson
Ariel Helwani believes that Nate Diaz would’ve made an easy walk had he had nothing to do with Jake Paul
In a special segment out of his own show, The MMA Hour, Helwani answers fans’ questions from all over the internet. He talks about Tony Ferguson‘s next move after a sad 5-fight skid, Chael Sonnen‘s performance as a presenter for the Paul-Silva event, Nick Diaz‘s future and much more. In the midst of all, a fan asked a question related to Nate Diaz and how convenient it would be for other fighters to walk out as a free agents now. Helwani came to an interesting theory about why Diaz had to face all the aforementioned struggles before being given his last UFC fight.
“I guarantee you by the way, if Jake Paul wasn’t waiting on the other side of the fence, they would be a lot more willing to let him walk,” says Helwani. “I think because it’s so personal with Jake and his business partner Nakisa Bidarian, they [the UFC] are going to try to mess around a little bit. If he [Diaz] was going off to do something completely different, I don’t think they would be much of a roadblock…”
Do you agree with Helwani’s take on the situation with Diaz and the UFC that ended on a frustrating note for the Stockton, California native? Where do you put Diaz amongst the most fan-favourite fighters of all time? What do you think Diaz will achieve first, being a successful promoter or having a boxing match with Paul? Who do you think would win if Paul and Diaz scrap it off inside a boxing ring? Paul is an undefeated boxer so far with 5 wins and 4 knockouts, with wins over former world MMA champions, Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren. He is next fighting MMA legend Anderson Silva in October 2022.
Also Read: WATCH: Polish MMA fighter Amadeusz Roslik BRUTALLY knocks out YouTuber mid-interview
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Abhai Singh Tanwar
(1386 Articles Published)