Ariel Helwani says Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev a bid to "diminish" Diaz's star power, believes UFC doesn't care if UFC 279 PPV doesn't sell

Ariel Helwani believes that the UFC is attempting to diminish the star power of Nate Diaz by pitting him against undefeated sensation Khamzat Chimaev in his final octagon appearance in September.

The MMA journalist also thinks that the promotion doesn't care if the pay-per-view tanks as long as it hurts the Stockton native's image on his way out of the company. On a recent edition of The MMA Hour, Helwani spoke about the matchup:

"It's going to be the Khamzat and Diaz show. Diaz gets pay-per-view points, they don't want him benefitting from that and it's just the way it's going to be... I don't even think they care if it [PPV] is a bust. Nate doesn't want to re-sign, given the toughest fight on the way out to try and diminish his star power before he goes out there and tests the market and maybe does a fight with Jake Paul... In no matchmaking universe does [Chimaev vs. Diaz] make sense. See it for what it is."

Watch Ariel Helwani discuss Chimaev vs. Diaz and more below:

Nate Diaz finally got his wish with the UFC as he will compete in the last fight of his UFC contract when he takes on 'Borz' at UFC 279 on September 10. The Stockton fighter has relentlessly campaigned to be booked in his last bout even if it meant facing a tough opponent like Chimaev.

However, certain figures in the MMA community, including Helwani, believe it's an unfair matchup for the veteran fighter.

Dana White's message for critics of Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev matchup

Dana White has a strong message for anyone who is opposed to the main event booking between Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev.

Much like Ariel Helwani, Leon Edwards and MMA analyst Dan Hardy also recently criticized the matchmaking and accused the promotion of mistreating Nate Diaz by pitting him against a dangerous opponent. During a recent interaction with Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole, the UFC president responded to the duo and anyone who was not convinced by the promotion's decision to make the fight:

"I love when fighters or other people or anybody else give us advice on this incredibly successful business that we've built, it cracks me up. So, I'm looking at Francis Ngannou or Khamzat Chimaev and a couple other ones that were not good either. I'm going to take Khamzat. I can tell you this, Leon Edwards, Dan Hardy and anybody else out there yapping has never dealt with the Diaz brothers."

White added:

"It's a very unique experience. It takes a very long time and we got through it and here we are. It's a very popular fight that people are going to want to see... and everybody's getting what they want. Dan Hardy and Leon Edwards don't have to watch it."

Catch Dana White's full interaction with Yahoo! Sports below:

It’s been over a year since Nate Diaz dropped a unanimous decision to the next welterweight title challenger Leon Edwards. The 37-year-old is 1-3 in his past four bouts with his last win coming over Anthony Pettis in August 2019.

Meanwhile, Khamzat Chimaev is coming off a hard-fought decision win over former title challenger Gilbert Burns in April. The 11-0 Chechen-born Swede scored his fifth win inside the UFC octagon with his performance.