Khamzat Chimaev promises ‘coffin’ for Nate Diaz in response to UFC 279 promo

Khamzat Chimaev anticipates the same result many fans and observers do in his UFC 279 fight against Nate Diaz.

In response to a new promo for the welterweight matchup on Sept. 10 in Las Vegas, Chimaev posted a coffin emoji with the 209 area code, a reference to the Stockton, Calif., territory Diaz calls home.

@UFC, Instagram

The UFC 279 matchup marks Diaz’s final obligation to the UFC after an extended layoff in which the one-time lightweight title challenger repeatedly demanded a fight from the promotion. This past month, he appeared on The MMA Hour to accuse the UFC of holding him under contract for a trilogy with his two-time opponent, Conor McGregor, and request his final fight.

Diaz remains a significant underdog against Chimaev, who has blazed to the top of the division with five straight wins including a “Fight of The Year” contender against Gilbert Burns in his previous outing. Diaz is 1-3 in his past four outings, most recently suffering a lopsided loss to current welterweight title challenger Leon Edwards. Despite the setback, Diaz won a moral victory with a last-minute surge that rattled the U.K. standout.

The Instagram account linked with Team Diaz reacted to the UFC 279 promo with a fist emoji.