MMA News

Tag: Nate Diaz

  • Bisping Wants Nate Diaz To Rematch Clay Cuida After Declining Chimaev

    Michael Bisping has an idea of who Nate Diaz should fight if he is not interested in Khamzat Chimaev.

    Diaz has been vocal about his disinterest in fighting the red-hot prospect Chimaev in the last fight of his UFC contract, despite this being the thing that the UFC is pushing for. He has spoken outright about not wanting to take this fight because he feels that the Chechen is not experienced enough in the UFC and is undeserving of the hype that has been put on him.

    If this is not the fight that the younger Diaz brother wants, then former middleweight champion and UFC commentator Michael Bisping has an interesting alternative.

    Speaking on the Believe You Me podcast, he was empathetic to the reason given for turning down the Chimaev fight and said that it would be great to see 209’s own face off in a rematch against Clay Guida, following “The Carpenter’s” comeback win over Leonardo Santos at UFC Vegas 44.

    “Khamzat [Chimaev], whilst showing the potential and being a potential contender down the line, isn’t a contender right now. And isn’t ranked in the top five so I don’t blame him for saying that. Clay Guida, if I am Nate Diaz, I would take that fight. I’m not sure the UFC would wanna do that fight, who knows,” Bisping said (h/t LowKickMMA).

    “I mean, Clay Guida is a fan favorite. Every time he goes out there, his brother slaps him. Of course, we know he burps all over the effing place as well. He’s a great guy, He’s had a great career. As I said, he’s in the Hall of Fame for that fight that he had with Diego Sanchez. Yeah, off it. Nate Diaz-Clay Guida 2. Fucking Clay deserves it. That would be amazing to see.”

    Michael Bisping makes a good point about how much fun a rematch between Nate Diaz and Clay Guida would be, especially considering it has been 12 years since their first fight, which ended as a split decision for Guida. That said, like Bisping noted, the UFC may not be too keen on making this fight happen.

    You can watch the full podcast with Michael Bisping below:

    https://youtu.be/YGzEY2CCUGI

  • Kavanagh Says Potential McGregor/Diaz Trilogy Gives Him ‘Nightmares’

    John Kavanagh and Conor McGregor are planning a comeback but against who?

    Conor McGregor is currently sidelined with a leg injury. Although his timeline for return is not yet specified, he is still talking about his plan of attack. McGregor has stated that he would like to fight for the belt when he is ready to get back in the cage.

    However, his head coach John Kavanagh might have some more realistic ideas. Kavanagh sat down with Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour to discuss options (h/t MMA Fighting).

    “I’ll be honest, the Nate Diaz trilogy is very, very tempting,” Kavanagh said. “It’s a fight that gives me nightmares. The man doesn’t stop coming forward, whether it’s three rounds or five rounds, but it’s an intriguing fight. So that one is definitely very interesting. But also the Tony Ferguson one — it never happened. It was talked about a lot. And Tony still has, I believe, a lot to offer the game. He’s a very unorthodox striker, grappler. I think the buildup would be fun for the fans. So any of those kind of legacy guys.”

    McGregor is the most wanted fighter on the UFc roster. He is constantly being called out by fighters, both in his division and out. He will most likely have his choice of who he wants to fight when he is ready. The only exception could be whoever is holding the belt when that time comes.

    Champion Charles Oliveira and Duston Poirier will be battling it out to see who is the king at 155 pounds on Dec. 11. Whoever wins would probably like to face McGregor next, but now McGregor has lost two in a row and the next shot was already promised to Justin Gaethje. That hasn’t stopped McGregor from dreaming about redemption.

    “We’re still chatting about fighting techniques, all day, every day. He’s still talking about getting that belt again, all day, every day. What can you conclude from this? He loves fighting. He loves mixed martial arts. He loves competition. So let’s get back healthy, let’s get back training, and let’s go on a run in ‘22, and I’m sure there’s some people there with steam coming out of their ears that he’s coming back for that belt, but I’m sorry to upset you — he’s coming back there for that belt, so give me your best shot on Twitter.”

    Who do you want to see Conor McGregor face in his return fight?

  • Bryan Barberena Says, Unlike Nate Diaz, He’s Willing To Fight Anybody

    Bryan Barberena says that, unlike Nate Diaz, he is a true embodiment of what it means to be willing to fight anyone, anytime.

    Prior to this past weekend’s UFC Vegas 44 card, Bryan Barberena was scheduled to face UFC legend Matt Brown in a fight that carried massive Fight of the Night potential. Unfortunately, a COVID-19 contraction forced Brown to withdraw only two weeks out from the brawl. Undeterred, Barberena flew out to Vegas anyway, willing to fight literally anyone the UFC put in front of him.

    That person turned out to be the debuting Darian Weeks. After a rocky start, Barberena was able to break down the 28-year-old upstart en route to a unanimous decision victory. This short-notice free-for-all served as another example of Barberena’s identity as a throwback fighter who is always down to scrap, no questions asked.

    Dave Mandel
    Image Credit: Dave Mandel of Sherdog.com

    The same has often been said of Stockton legend Nate Diaz. Like Barberena, Diaz is often praised for his toughness and his non-discriminating willingness to scrap, regardless of the name or location. However, after Diaz publicly refused to fight “rookie” Khamzat Chimaev, Barberena is more confused by Diaz’s behavior than anything, while he is the one who is truly down to fight anyone (h/t MMA Junkie).

    “I will fight anybody. Nate Diaz, he’s a stud and whatever, but he’s over here like ‘(Khamzhat) Chimaev, you don’t deserve to fight me.’ Man, I’m here to fight everybody. If your name comes on the contract, I’m signing it. I don’t care whose name is on it – I’m signing it because I’m here to fight everybody. … I’m here to test myself against everybody. Bring it on,” Barberena said during his UFC Vegas 44 post-fight media scrum.

    Barberena isn’t the only one to throw shade at Diaz for his rejection of Chimaev. Conor McGregor called Diaz a “bitch” for turning down the fight, and Dana White implied that Diaz simply wants no part of Chimaev.

    As for Barberena, the top name he’d be willing to fight next is the same name he expected to fight last Saturday, another “anywhere, anytime” kind of guy, fellow veteran Matt Brown.

    “I would like to get the Matt Brown matchup back,” Barberena said. “That was kind of a dream matchup. He’s a legend.”

  • Dana White Reacts To Nate Diaz Rejecting Khamzat Chimaev Fight

    Dana White has reacted to Nate Diaz publicly rejecting a fight against undefeated rising star Khamzat Chimaev.

    After Khamzat Chimaev advanced his professional record to 10-0 at UFC 267 by manhandling Li Jingliang, White and Borz both set their sights on Nate Diaz as his next opponent. There’s just one problem, Diaz wanted nothing to do with it.

    This, according to the Stockton bad boy himself, is due to the fact that Chimaev only has four fights in the UFC and is a “rookie.” Therefore, the suggestion that Diaz, an established veteran of the game, should fight him was considered “disrespectful” by the Californian.

    TMZ caught up with Dana White this weekend and asked the UFC President to comment on Diaz’s remarks. Here’s what he had to say.

    “Listen, man. Khamzat is a straight murderer. He’s a killer. He’s an absolute savage. And I don’t blame anybody for not wanting to fight Khamzat Chimaev,” White said.

    White was then pressed to respond directly to Nate Diaz’s reasoning and if he thought Chimaev’s “rookie” status is the legitimate reason why Diaz is uninterested in the fight. White could not stifle the urge to smile throughout the entirety of the following response.

    “What do you think? What do you think? [SMILE GROWS WIDER] Listen, everybody in this business, everybody in this company is here because they belong here. There are no real ‘rookies’ per se here. There are guys with more experience and some guys with some less experience.

    Khamzat Chimaev
    Khamzat Chimaev (Photo: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa)

    “Khamzat Chimaev is one of those guys that’s willing to fight anybody in multiple weight classes on short notice. He’s doing wrestling matches. If it’s a fight, he’s in, and he wants to fight you. And that’s the reality. I mean, people can spin Khamzat however they want to and I don’t blame ’em.”

    Dana White has recently shared how difficult it has been to get Chimaev booked in a fight, stating that no one in the welterweight division wants to fight him. There have been reports of a potential pairing of Chimaev and Burns, and Burns himself said he’d be open to that fight, but there has been zero traction on that bout ever since the initial report.

    Why do you think Nate Diaz does not want to fight Khamzat Chimaev? Because it’s “disrespectful” or because he simply wants no part of Borz?

  • McGregor Says He’ll Fight Khamzat Chimaev If “B*tch” Nate Diaz Won’t

    Conor McGregor has implied that he’d have “no problem” fighting Khamzat Chimaev if Nate Diaz won’t.

    Khamzat Chimaev has been on a call-out rampage ever since smeshing Li Jingliang at UFC 267 in October. The man has even called out Brock Lesnar and Georges St-Pierre for crying out loud. However, there is one call-out of a legendary fighter that was as realistic as it gets, Nate Diaz.

    While that pairing was dismissed by some critics, the very fact that Dana White endorsed the idea shows that it was only one piece away from being complete. That piece, of course, was Nate Diaz himself, who emphatically rejected the fight this week.

    Following Diaz’s rejection, Chimaev mocked both Nate and his older brother Nick, and now Nate Diaz has decided to help Borz out and play matchmaker for him as well as an old rival:

    “Let him fight kamrat that be a great fight to make He needs a easy new guy to fight anyway he can taper back in and see if he can even still fight at all Great idea Nate Thanks.”

    Plot Twist: McGregor Approves Nate Diaz’s Matchmaking Idea

    Full transcript Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather Toronto press conference, boxing

    Within the hour of Nate Diaz’s matchmaking proposal, Conor McGregor would respond, implying that he’d have no problem taking on Borz even though Diaz wouldn’t.

    https://twitter.com/TheNotoriousMMA/status/1466921243416879111

    “No problem, bitch” McGregor posted in response to Diaz.

    Diaz would then hit back immediately after McGregor’s snappy reply.

    “Good job do what ur told BITCH”

    McGregor would then respond referencing a line used against Diaz in an old exchange between the two, where McGregor requested Diaz go fetch him his coffee.

    https://twitter.com/TheNotoriousMMA/status/1466927306199470083

    “Two sugars,” said McGregor.

    It should come as no surprise that Conor McGregor was among the plethora of names that Borz has called out in recent weeks. To be precise, he proposed that they make a “big drama show.”

    Should McGregor’s Twitter acceptance actually take fruit in a McGregor/Chimaev booking, then a drama show is what we would have indeed: on Twitter, in the press conference, and certainly in the climactic Octagon finale.

    Do you think Conor McGregor is really down to fight Khamzat Chimaev?

  • Nate Diaz Denies Khamzat Chimaev Fight: ‘Don’t Disrespect Me Like That’

    Nate Diaz says that he is not going to be fighting Khamzat Chimaev.

    Diaz is on the last fight of his UFC contract and has been looking for a big fight to fill that position after having lost a decision to Leon Edwards in June. The UFC has had someone specific in mind, namely rising red hot prospect Khamzat Chimaev, which has caused mixed reactions from fans.

    However, Diaz has been outspoken about his lack of desire to take that fight and spoke out about it once again while speaking with TMZ. Here, he explained that he felt it disrespectful for the UFC to offer him a fight against someone who has only had four fights in the UFC and that he instead wants someone in the top ten of either lightweight or welterweight.

    “I’m trying to fight somebody in the UFC, like ASAP, but nobody don’t want to fight. I’ve been trying to get busy for a minute… Anybody in the top ten I’ve been trying to fight, you know, in any weight division, whoever want it. But they all want to keep their mouth shut, ’cause they’re all scared,” Diaz said.

    “They’re coming at me with (Chimaev), and I’m like, don’t disrespect me like that. You’re going to try to offer me a rookie? I’m cool. You got four fights in the UFC, don’t even talk my name. Definitely do not even talk. Fight the newer guys in the UFC… There’s levels to this, and I don’t even want to here his name.”

    That said, Nate Diaz did have someone in mind that Khamzat Chimaev could fight instead. He offered his teammate, undefeated Nick Maximov, who made his successful UFC debut at UFC 266 in September.

    “Hey Khamzat, if you’re in there, don’t be a bitch. My boy’s right here (Maximov), fight him. Quit talking my name. And anybody in the higher level, even playing along with this Khamzat shit, you’re a bitch, too. Taking that shit.

    “You’re a new rookie. Deal with new people. Don’t be talking my name.”

    Nate Diaz ended the interview by saying that he hopes to be back in action at UFC 270, which takes place in his home state of California. It will be interesting to see if that comes together since he does not appear interested in being a part of the Khamzat Chimaev hype train.

    Watch the full interview below: