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Nate Diaz has been demanding a fight from the UFC for over a half a year now and might finally have one. Recent matchmaker board leaks from UFC headquarters have the promotion aiming to pair Diaz against Khamzat Chimaev for the co-main event of UFC 276 on July 2.
While the fight is nowhere near being confirmed yet, Nate Diaz took to Instagram to share photos of him lacing up the boxing gloves and training.
It didn't take long for fans of Khamzat Chimaev to inundate the comments section, declaring Diaz was going to lose to Chimaev if they fought. Here's a small sample:
Nate Diaz currently has one fight left on his UFC contract and is looking to leave the promotion as soon as possible. The UFC responded in December 2021 by offering him a fight with Khamzat Chimaev. Chimaev's biggest win at the time was against Li Jingliang, and Diaz turned the fight down, telling TMZ:
“They’re coming at me with [Chimaev], and I’m like, ‘Hold on, don’t disrespect me like that, trying to offer me a fight with a rookie. I’m cool, you got four fights in the UFC. Don’t even talk my name.”
Now that Chimaev has defeated Gilbert Burns in a high profile fight at UFC 273, Diaz may be reconsidering him as a worthy opponent. Or he just wants to fight out his contract and no longer cares against who.
"Yeah, there is something there" - Ariel Helwani confirms Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev is a real possibility
Fans are getting quite excited over this rumored Diaz vs. Chimaev fight, largely off leaked photos of UFC matchmaking plans from a Pivot Podcast video.
The MMA Hour host Ariel Helwani shared his thoughts on the legitimacy of the leaks, saying:
"That interview was shot a couple of weeks ago and I don't think it was done on purpose, I don't think they were trying to leak, I just think the way it was positioned, it happened to be in the shot ... I will tell you this, I have heard of all those fights, and Izzy vs. Cannonier is all but done, it's a signature away from being done. I told you Jones vs. Stipe was something they wanted for July 30th. We talked about Ankeliev vs. Smith. All these things are real."
As far as Diaz vs. Chimaev goes, Helwani said:
"When I say something that's kind of an idea, more often than not unless I explicitly say otherwise, it is rooted in fact. So a couple of weeks ago I said I wouldn't be surprised if Nate Diaz just says 'Give me Khamzat so I can get on my merry way.' Remember when I said that? Back to the previous statement: more often than not, rooted in fact. Okay? Is it a done deal? No. Is there something there? Yeah, there is something there. But I don't know what's going to happen."
Watch Ariel Helwani discuss the Diaz vs. Chimaev leak below:
