UFC President Dana White claims Nate Diaz was offered a showdown with Khamzat Chimaev before UFC 267 took place.
Chimaev has had a red hot start to his UFC run. The 170-pounder has amassed a perfect record of 10-0 thus far and is 4-0 under the UFC banner. He’s coming off a first-round submission finish over Li Jingliang at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi. After the fight, Chimaev called for a showdown with Diaz, which Dana White revealed is in the cards if the Stockton native agrees.
Dana White Dismisses Backlash
Speaking to BT Sport, the UFC boss explained why the notion that he’d be throwing Diaz to the wolves if he books him against Chimaev is off.
“I just did an interview with Robbie Fox yesterday. He’s like, ‘Well everybody feels like you’re feeding Nate Diaz to the wolves.’ This guy’s got four fights. Nate Diaz has been here for years. Nate Diaz was just asking for an Usman fight. That would be feeding Nate Diaz to the wolves. We don’t know. Listen, Khamzat Chimaev looked incredible but he’s never fought anybody inside the top 10, the last guy he fought was number 11, and he’s never fought anybody in the top five. He’s never been in any of those kind of fights yet.
“So, as incredible as he looks let’s be realistic here in what he’s done in a short amount of time and how popular he’s become. But if you wanted a fight with Kamaru Usman, then you shouldn’t be worried about Khamzat Chimaev.”
White then revealed that he actually offered Nate Diaz the fight with Khamzat Chimaev before UFC 267.
“Yeah, he was offered that before we even went to Abu Dhabi. So, he was offered that before that fight even happened.”
Diaz fell short in his most recent outing against Leon Edwards. While it was mostly a one-sided showing for “Rocky,” Diaz had Edwards on wobbly legs from a one-two combination near the end of the fight. The Stockton native couldn’t seal the deal and lost the fight via unanimous decision.
