Report: Nate Diaz vs Khamzat Chimaev verbally agreed to as main event for UFC 279 in September
UFC superstar Nate Diaz has finally gotten his wish for the final fight of his current UFC contract. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was first to report, citing UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell that Diaz will face undefeated welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev in the main event for UFC 279, scheduled for September 10.
Khamzat vs. Nate. UFC 279 on Sept. 10 at T-Mobile Arena. Main event. Five rounds. Verbally agreed, per UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell. It is the final fight on Nate Diaz’s current UFC contract. pic.twitter.com/p7lrcoroH0
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 19, 2022
The fight will be the final one for Nate Diaz with the UFC under his current contract and last week, he gave a tell-all interview with Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting and laid out how he has been asking for fights and opponents, but not getting any of them. Shortly after news of the fight was reported, a representative for Diaz confirmed the fight and then noted that this is a fight that has been pursued since the middle of April.
Nate Diaz's representative Zach Rosenfield confirms the date and opponent of Diaz's next appearance to ESPN.
Adds, "This is a fight Nate has been asking for since the middle of April."
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 19, 2022
While Diaz has called for the UFC to either release him or book him the final fight of his contract in the past several months, his upcoming opponent sees their matchup as the end of Diaz for good. In a statement to ESPN, Khamzat Chimaev claimed he will be “handling” Nate Diaz’s funeral with the UFC.
Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) provided this comment about the fight to ESPN. Translated from Swedish by his representative Majdi Shammas.
"I am going to handle Nate Diaz's funeral with the UFC."
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 19, 2022
The last time Nate Diaz fought for the UFC was back at UFC 263 last June when he fought upcoming welterweight title challenger Leon Edwards, and lost by unanimous decision. Diaz almost pulled off a comeback to remember when he stunned Edwards in a striking exchange, but was unable to get the finish. Before his fight against Edwards, Diaz had not competed since 2019 when he lost to Jorge Masvidal in their ‘BMF’ title fight by way of doctor stoppage before the fifth round began.
Facing Nate Diaz on a two-fight losing skid may not be ideal for the rising challenger in Chimaev in terms of rankings and title contention, but he is 11-0 in his professional career and had arguably the toughest fight of his career earlier this year when he was in a war against Gilbert Burns at UFC 273. With the champion Kamaru Usman set to face Leon Edwards in August, it will be interesting to see if the UFC grants Chimaev a title opportunity if he beats Diaz, and it’ll be interesting to see the first move for Diaz outside the UFC, which could be a boxing match against Jake Paul.
