Khamzat Chimaev is genuinely excited at the prospect of getting a win over veteran Nate Diaz at UFC 279 – but he’s far from certain that the Stockton native will actually make the walk come September 10.
Speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, ‘Borz’ voiced his concern over the Diaz brother’s ‘flakiness’ – likely sparked by brother Nick Diaz’s recent weight-miss fiasco at UFC 266.
“I still don’t believe that guy will come or show up, that skinny boy,” Chimaev said. “We’ll see what’s happening. I’m just waiting for September 10. It doesn’t matter who I have, I’m training. I said, ‘If you want to fight at (185 pounds) for his last fight, just show up – I can fight at (185 pounds). It doesn’t matter.”
“I’m going to train for that 100 percent, like I do always… We’ll see what Diaz is going to do. If he (doesn’t) show up, I’ll wait for his brother.”
The AllStar MMA roundup
- Opinion: Kai Kara France proposes the sport has left Henry Cejudo behind – ‘maybe he should stick to coaching’
- Update: Casey O’Neill sees early 2023 return to UFC, targets Maycee Barber
- Fight Or Flight: Keep up with John Hyon Ko’s journey as he trains to take an MMA fight
The best of the rest
- Leon Edwards: Nate Diaz deserves better UFC sendoff than ‘f*cked up’ Khamzat Chimaev booking – MMAJunkie.com
- Alleged Cain Velasquez shooting victim denies allegations by family, asks to delay civil lawsuit to prevent ‘witch hunt’ – MMAJunkie.com
- Dan Hardy rips UFC for Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev ‘assassination attempt’: ‘Someone should start thinking about pressing charges’ – MMAFighting.com
- ‘My fight is the most hyped’ at UFC 280 – Sean O’Malley tells Sterling to fork over his PPV points – BloodyElbow.com
- Contender Series bout pulled after fighter misses weight by staggering 10 pounds – MMAMania.com
The soapbox
The Rock passes the mantle of the ‘Peoples Elbow’ to Meatball Molly:
Miranda Maverick hunting for the McCann matchup:
Kayla Harrison discusses her future plans:
Ilia Topuria fight news incoming:
Jiri doing what Jiri does:
The morning view
JHK chats with Erick Gonzalez ahead of his bout with Terrance McKinney:
UFC 277: Embedded kicks off:
Dan Hardy breaks down this weekend’s co-main event between Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara France for the interim flyweight strap:
Israel Adesanya and Dan Hooker break down UFC 277:
Done deals
This week
- Brogan Walker to fight Juliana Miller at UFC Vegas 59 on August 6th
- Zac Pauga to fight Mohammed Usman at UFC Vegas 59 on August 6th
- Jamie Pickett to fight Denis Tiuliulin at UFC 279 on September 10th
On this day in MMA…
On the 26th of July, 2020, Khamzat Chimaev made his UFC welterweight debut when he stopped Rhys McKee in the first round of their UFC on ESPN 14 bout.
This pairing came just ten days after ‘Borz’ entered the promotion as a middleweight and emerged victorious over John Phillips – setting a new UFC record for the fastest back-to-back wins inside the Octagon.
