“Come Beat Me” Nate Diaz says he’s given up preparing for Khamzat Chimaev fight at UFC 279
Follow Us
Diaz has reportedly given up on training
Nate Diaz is seemingly over Khamzat Chimaev and the threat he poses leading into fight week for UFC 279. Nate is on the final UFC fight of his contract and is unlikely to re-sign with the company due to years of grievances and potential outside the company.
Nate Diaz was originally aiming for his final fight to be against a fellow veteran like himself. This list of names included fan favourites., like Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler to all out brawlers like Vicente Luque and Tony Ferguson, however, none of those demands were accepted by the UFC.
In fact, all but Ferguson had verbally agreed to fight Diaz the moment he called them out. However, the UFC decided against it and planned to set him up against an up-and-coming contender in Chimaev. This was intended to be a fan base builder for Chimaev by going up against Diaz, who’s a well-known name with the casual audience.
Related: WATCH! ESPN reporter lost for words as Nate Diaz walks off interview mid-conversation
Nate Diaz is still not interested in Khamzat Chimaev
However Diaz has not been silent about his grievances with the company or this fight, throughout the fight week. In a recent interview with Bret Okamoto of ESPN, Diaz among many confirmed that he never called for this fight and in fact still doesn’t want it but will get through it for the sake of his freedom.
This has been the general feeling in the Diaz camp since this fight was accepted. Apparently, a huge reason for Diaz’s departure from the organization is that the UFC would need to sign some of his teammates to the organization if he were to stay. With this fight, Diaz has failed to have a motivating reason to help him train but he failed to find any.
This was evident at media day when Nate answered one of John Morgan’s questions about his preparations for this fight and the difficulties cause by the lack of choice in the opponent, Nate revealed that he had simple accepted it for what it was and given up.
“Yeah for sure” said Nate answering if it was difficult to find motivation throughout the camp, he continued, “I’m just, I f**** gave up on preparing, I’m just like whatever, beat me. “ Nate has repeatedly emphasized that he does not want this fight considering Chimaev doesn’t have the same veteran status as him.
These tactics along with the pay issues is what made Diaz choose to leave the UFC. In the same media day interview he revealed that apart from the money, the limitations that the UFC contract puts on a fighter is the main reason Nate is hesitant to re-sign, a sentiment that was echoes earlier this year by Francis Ngannou.
Stay Updated!
Jerin Mathew
(713 Articles Published)