Dana White reacts after Nate Diaz turns down fight against “rookie” Khamzat Chimaev
UFC president Dana White reacted after veteran star Nate Diaz turned down a potential fight next year against “rookie” Khamzat Chimaev.
White has publicly admitted that the UFC has offered Diaz the fight against Chimaev. Diaz, though, does not want the fight, telling TMZ earlier this week that he doesn’t want to fight a “rookie” who he doesn’t believe is on his level in what is the final fight of his UFC contract. In response to Diaz brushing off the fight against Diaz, TMZ Sports spoke to White and asked his opinion about Diaz apparently turning down Chimaev.
“What do you think?” White said when asked the real reason Diaz turned down Chimaev. “Listen, everybody in this business, everybody in this company is here because they belong here. There are no real rookies per se here. There are guys with more experience and some guys with less experience. Khamzat Chimaev is one of those guys who is willing to fight anyone 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. I mean, that’s the reality. People can spin Khamzat any way they want to and I don’t blame them,” White said.
White offered up no other hints of a potential fight for Chimaev if the Diaz one doesn’t go through, though he said earlier this week on the Jim Rome Show that the UFC was in the process of getting an opponent for him in the next week. Considering Diaz’s refusal to take the fight, it seems unlikely that it would be him, and given that White says nobody wants to fight Chimaev, it will be interesting to see who the UFC selects.
“Listen, man, Khamzat is a straight murderer, he’s a killer, he’s an absolute savage, and I don’t blame anybody for not wanting to fight Khamzat Chimaev,” White said.
Do you think Dana White will eventually get the Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev fight done?
