Former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub has offered his prediction for Khamzat Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz.
Schaub suggests that Chimaev will dominate the first 3 rounds with Diaz managing to recover during the championship rounds.
Schaub explained his remarks on The Schaub Show by claiming that Chimaev’s grappling approach would be effective against Diaz, a third-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
“Nate’s best chance, I think, is on the feet, with his volume punching and wearing Khamzat out… This is a five-round fight. Nate Diaz gets better after three [rounds]… Those championship rounds could be where Nate Diaz flourishes, man…”
“Early on, when Khamzat is not sweaty and he has energy, his advantage is on the feet and the ground. He’s going to ragdoll Nate Diaz around that octagon. He’s going to take him down whenever he wants and that ground-and-pound and his style of grappling is the exact opposite of Nate Diaz’s… [A] break-you-at-all-costs style and that is a nightmare for a traditional jiu-jitsu guy.”
These harsh remarks are not the first time Schaub gets in trouble with Diaz. Previously, Schaub told Diaz to his face that Conor McGregor teed off on him during their rematch – a remark that wasn’t welcomed by Diaz.
Schaub would go on to regret the harsh words and in fact even tried to lie to Joe Rogan that he’d never used those exact words to Diaz.
The main event of UFC 279 will feature Chimaev vs. Diaz, as one of the rare non-title bouts main eventing a UFC pay-per-view event.
On the other hand, a possibility of a third bout between Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor is being discussed.
The Stockton native recently told Imedia that while the timing is not great at the present, the bout will undoubtedly happen at some time in the future.
“The timing’s not on right now. We’ll worry about that later. It’s for sure gonna happen at some point… Yeah, at some point. Get back on it and get back on what he’s got to do, whatever that is. It’s like, when we match up we’re going to match up. But we ain’t going nowhere.”
Diaz’s UFC contract only allows for one more, which will happen at UFC 279. After the occasion, there is a good chance that the 37-year-old will no longer be competing for the promotion.
Therefore, there is a significant likelihood that the third battle between Diaz and the Irishman won’t happen despite his remarks.