Watch: When a young Khabib Nurmagomedov cheered for a Nate Diaz fight

Before he was considered the greatest UFC lightweight of all time, Khabib Nurmagomedov was a Nate Diaz fanboy.

A handheld video of Nurmagomedov cheering Diaz on recently resurfaced on social media. The video was taken during Diaz's main event clash with Jim Miller at UFC on Fox 3 in May 2012.

In the footage, the Dagestani is beaming with excitement as he mimics Bruce Buffer's iconic line during the introductions. Nurmagomedov can also be heard cheering gleefully as Diaz was announced.

Back then, Nurmagomedov was relatively unknown with only one UFC fight on his resume, while Diaz was arguably at the peak of his prime. The fight ended with Diaz submitting Miller in the second round.

Watch Khabib Nurmagomedov fanboy over Nate Diaz:

Years later, Nurmagomedov would go on to achieve something Diaz has yet to accomplish – become a UFC champion. 'The Eagle' captured the 155-pound title at UFC 223 in 2018 and defended it against Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. He subsequently retired in October 2020 with a perfect record of 29-0.

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Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov get into an altercation

Nate Diaz claimed that he once "slapped" Khabib Nurmagomedov when they crossed paths at a World Series of Fighting event in 2015. In a video that went viral on social media, the Stockton native appeared to be squaring up against Khabib's manager Ali Abdelaziz before an argument ensued.

Nate's older brother, Nick Diaz, then hurled a bottle of beer at 'The Eagle' and his entourage, leading to a scuffle. The incident led to the Diaz brothers receiving a lifetime ban from all World Series of Fighting events due to their misconduct.

Nate Diaz gets into a fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov:

According to Diaz, Nurmagomedov was the one who instigated the altercation. In a previous interview with ESPN, Diaz claimed:

"I’m not into this bully s***, he’s [Khabib Nurmagomedov] into bullying and stuff, that’s his thing. When I ran into him and his team at the World Series, I was standing there watching Jake [Shields], my friend, fight. And they took a group picture with me behind them, just to laugh at me, make fun of me. [Khabib] is like, ‘Ah, come on, man’ and they’re all laughing, 12 Russian dudes. I slapped him in his face for making fun of me and I’m like, ‘What?’ And he didn’t do nothing."

In a separate incident, Diaz and Nurmagomedov almost came to blows when they once again crossed paths at UFC 239. It's safe to say that Nurmagomedov is no longer a fan of Diaz after all their encounters.