Khamzat Chimaev reminded Nate Diaz of his near-booking with Khabib Nurmagomedov when the UFC came calling with fight. This was not a pleasant memory.
Amid a contract standoff with the promotion, Diaz said he eventually agreed to fight the welterweight star. But he was none too happy about getting another opponent on the upswing as he tried to fight out his contract.
“The same reason [the UFC] wanted me to fight Khabib when he was brand-ass new,” Diaz said Tuesday on The MMA Hour.
Diaz claimed that the Chimaev-Chimaev fight didn’t happen because Chimaev declined the fight. He previously said that he refused to fight Chimaev as the Chechen fighter was “a rookie”. Chimaev then accused Diaz that he turned down at most 10 offer to fight him.
Diaz believes that he is constantly used to create lesser fighters. Nurmagomedov is on that list despite a run that includes 13 straight UFC wins, a UFC lightweight title with three defenses and an undefeated 29-0 record.
“Khabib’s a f****** little b****, too,” Diaz said. “Who’d he beat for the title? He got Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje? Both of them have been defeated over and over until he finally beats them.
“You ain’t no good. It’s clear that you are scared of fighting and have been afraid of the Hall of Fame. Actually, I was there before the Hall of Fame appeared. Now you’re a Hall of Famer? You don’t want anything to do with Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is a joke too. But…the Ultimate Fighter right now .”
Nurmagomedov has been inducted into UFC Hall of Fame this month. The 33-year-old former champ has resisted multiple offers to get him back into the octagon.
Diaz and Nurmagomedov’s history is a rocky one, with the two nearly coming to blows at a WSOF event in 2015 after Diaz slapped the Dagestani fighter. Diaz later said he regretted the incident and added Nurmagomedov was picking on him.
At one point, Diaz said he requested a fight with Nurmagomedov but was turned down. He passed on the opportunity because his interest had waned after it was presented later.
