When Nick Diaz's manager turned down a fight against Khamzat Chimaev: "He hasn't earned the right"

Khamzat Chimaev and Nick Diaz at one point reportedly had a fight offer on the table with a party close to the latter articulating why it never ended up happening. In early May 2021, Chimaev told MMA Junkie that he would be keen on a Nick Diaz fight.

Then there was a later report from BJPenn.com stating that Diaz was formally offered a bout versus the, at the time, 9-0 pro MMA fighter, Chimaev. Diaz's manager at that juncture spoke out about this situation and the individual in question, Kevin Mubenga, spoke to ESPN about the matter.

In referring to the rumblings of Diaz returning to the cage to fight Chimaev three and a half years ago, Mubenga said,

"He's [Chimaev's] a good prospect, respectfully, but he hasn't earned the right to a mega-fight vs. Nick Diaz. So let's put those rumors to rest."

At the time, the team was squarely focused on Diaz's preparations ahead of his fight against Leon Edwards for UFC 262. This was just a couple of weeks later from when this Nick Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev discourse happened.

Check out the BJPenn.com report on Nick Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev below:

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Khamzat Chimaev and Nick Diaz's paths since May 2021

Khamzat Chimaev has since gone on to further grow his spotless pro MMA record and seems like he's poised to secure a UFC middleweight title shot in 2025. 'Borz' has secured several notable wins across multiple UFC weight divisions since that Nick Diaz fight was rumored.

Chimaev has since notched wins over Li Jingliang, Gilbert Burns, Kevin Holland, Kamaru Usman, and most recently Robert Whittaker. The native of Russia was booked to fight another Stockton combatant before the Holland bout. But Chimaev's massive weight miss before his booked fight vs Nate Diaz at UFC 279 resulted in the unbeaten fighter clashing with Holland in a catchweight.

As for Nick Diaz, he did in fact end up stepping into the octagon in 2021, but it took place in September of that year. The pride of Stockton would take on a familiar foe in Robbie Lawler and fell to Lawler at UFC 266 via third-round retirement.

Diaz popped up again earlier this year but a pair of canceled fights against Vicente Luque, most recently for UFC 310, are having many wondering if the former Strikeforce and WEC champion will ever return to the octagon.