UFC has electrified the fans with several announcements in the past few days.
However, the most surprising is probably Khamzat Chimaev against Nate Diaz. The two will headline the UFC 279 card in September.
While many fans are fired up by the matchup, others are concerned for Diaz and think that this is a serious case of a mismatch.
One of those who aren’t too fond of this duel is longtime UFC commentator, Joe Rogan.
During a conversation with guest star Cameron Hanes on his podcast, Rogan shared his thoughts on the match making.
“I don’t want to see him [Chimaev] fight Nate Diaz. I don’t really want that. The only reason I would be interested in seeing that is because, Nate Diaz will find out if you’re for real. Nate is a beast. He’s such a warrior.”
“If Nate gets paid big for that fight, if they set up a main event somewhere, Khamzat and Nate for a title elimination fight. I think if every fight went a 100 rounds, Nate would never lose.”
While the announcement caught everyone off guard, the rumors of the bout have been circling for several months. MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani confirmed UFC used Chimaev offer to extend Diaz’ contract back in April. Diaz wasn’t interested at the time and had passed prior to Chimaev’s clash with Burns.
The encounter between the two was initially targeted for UFC 276 in the leak, with Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic going toe to toe at UFC 277. However many of the bouts from the board have since not materialized including Jones against Miocic.
While it’s not officially announced yet, the two have verbally agreed.