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Nate Diaz has weighed in on undefeated MMA icon Khabib Nurmagomedov’s UFC Hall of Fame (HOF) induction. Nurmagomedov, a retired MMA great and former UFC lightweight champion, was inducted into the HOF's ‘Modern-Era Wing’ this year.
Meanwhile, Diaz, a UFC lightweight and welterweight veteran, has been pleading with the UFC to let him fight out of his contract and leave the organization. Diaz currently has just one fight left on his UFC contract. The TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) season 5 winner has also claimed that the UFC is intentionally refraining from letting him compete in the final fight of his contract.
In a ‘Special Nate Diaz edition’ of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Diaz spoke about being offered a fight against UFC welterweight phenom Khamzat Chimaev. On that note, Diaz recalled that he was similarly offered a fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov when the latter was an up-and-coming fighter.
Diaz suggested that the UFC wanted his star power to rub off on Nurmagomedov back in the day, adding that they wanted the same by booking him against Chimaev. Additionally, sounding off on ‘The Eagle’s’ HOF induction, Diaz stated:
“Khabib’s a f**king little b**ch too. Khabib just was like, who did he beat for the title he got? Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje? They’ve both been finished off, over and over, the same way that he beat them. You ain’t no good. You are a scared fighter, scared of fighting the whole time."
He added:
"And now, you’re in the Hall of Fame. I was here before the Hall of Fame even showed up, actually. Now you’re a Hall of Famer? Like, whatever. I don’t even want nothing to do with the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame’s a joke too. But [I’m] ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ right?”
Watch Diaz discuss the topic at 20:05 in the video below:
Nate Diaz on his WSOF brawl with Khabib Nurmagomedov
Nate Diaz was expected to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov back in 2014. However, the matchup fell apart after Diaz reportedly turned it down.
Following this, Diaz got into a physical altercation with Nurmagomedov and his team at a WSOF (World Series of Fighting) event in 2015.
Speaking to ESPN MMA in 2019, Nate Diaz shed light upon the incident and claimed that he slapped Khabib Nurmagomedov after being mocked by 'The Eagle' and his team. Diaz said:
“The reason he got slapped was because he's not humble and not this nice guy. He's there with his friend, trying to get a fight with me, taking a picture of me and making fun of me. So I capitalized and told him, 'F*** you,' and I slapped him in his face.”
