In an August 20, 2025, livestream with Sneako, Nate Diaz tore into Khamzat Chimaev’s cautious performance in his UFC 319 middleweight title win over Dricus Du Plessis. Diaz branded Chimaev a “scared fighter” for relying on wrestling to control the fight while landing light strikes. He called him a “big scared f***ing child” and shared his strategy to beat Chimaev in their canceled 2022 UFC 279 fight.
Diaz’s Full Rant
Diaz said:
“I don’t like that kind of fighting, boring to me. Like [Chimaev’s] supposed to be the big scary guy, right? And remember when he had him in side control and he’s holding him? Dominating him, and then he’s like, let’s go and hit him a little bit, like little soft punches and sht. It’s like, that’s what people don’t understand about, like the style, like that type of fighter is a scared fighter. He’s scared for his life that he let go down much to hit, he’s that afraid that if he let’s go to hit hard, that motherfuker might get up and get the fuk away from him, so that’s a scared style to me.”
He added, “He comes off as this big, intimidating guy but he’s a big scared f**ing child. That’s why I tweeted about, I said he’s not a fighter because you can tell by how scared he is holding him that tight.”
Nate Diaz says Khamzat Chimaev is a ‘scared fighter’ 😬
“He comes off as this big, intimidating guy but he’s a big scared f***ing child.”
🎥 @sneako
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 20, 2025
Diaz’s Plan to Win
Reflecting on their canceled UFC 279 fight, Diaz explained his approach:
“You’re gonna lose a decision anyway so learn how to fight there. Put him in your closed guard and fing beat the f out of him. You’re gonna make my life a living hell trying to get up, then I’m just not gonna try to get up, I’m going to beat the f*** out of you from my back and lose a decision or take you out somehow… I’m not gonna be an athlete back with you because you already obviously got that part covered, that’s how he got there.”
❗️Nate Diaz reveals what he would do vs Khamzat Chimaev
“I didn’t plan on getting up when I fought Khamzat. Lets go to the ground motherf*cker. I’m a blackbelt.”
via @sneako
— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) August 21, 2025
As a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Diaz planned to use submissions or strikes from his back to counter Chimaev’s grappling.
Khamzat Chimaev joined the UFC in 2020, going 8-0 with victories over Robert Whittaker (2024), Kamaru Usman (2023), and Kevin Holland (2022). At UFC 319 on August 16, 2025, he beat Dricus Du Plessis by unanimous decision (50-44) to win the middleweight title, using takedowns but landing light strikes. His record is 15-0, though Paulo Costa called the fight boring.
At UFC 319 in Chicago, Chimaev controlled Du Plessis for five rounds, landing multiple takedowns and setting a UFC record for most strikes without significant damage. Du Plessis couldn’t escape or fight back, marking his first UFC loss. Judges scored it 50-44 for Chimaev, who became the middleweight champion. John McCarthy criticized Chimaev for not using elbows to finish. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson suggested Du Plessis move to light heavyweight, saying he “got destroyed,”.
Diaz and Chimaev were set to fight at UFC 279 on September 10, 2022, but Chimaev missed weight by 7.5 pounds (178.5 vs. 171). The Nevada Athletic Commission canceled the bout due to the weight gap. Diaz submitted Tony Ferguson instead, while Chimaev submitted Kevin Holland in the co-main event. Chimaev called Diaz a “fake gangster” for refusing the fight, despite offering his $2 million purse. Diaz tweeted, “Lame, scared, boring rookie,”.
