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“I Have Been Stuck in the Cage for a Longtime”: Fans Express Concerns for Nate Diaz After He Admits ‘Gave Up on Preparing’ for UFC’s ‘Paid Killer’ Khamzat Chimaev Fight

Afnan Chougle
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Nate Diaz

Fight Fans raised concerns for Nate Diaz after he bluntly admitted he was not preparing for his upcoming UFC bout against Khamzat Chimaev. 

The Stockton slugger will compete in what appears to be his last UFC bout against one of the top-ranked welterweight contenders Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of UFC 279 inside T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada on 10th September.

Diaz has been waiting for a long time for his last UFC bout after his appearance in 2021. He was frustrated due to the wait and even lashed out at the UFC many times.

Finally, after months of negotiation, the UFC matched him up with Chimaev. But the 37-year-old doesn’t seem happy with the company’s decision and wants to end terms with the UFC as soon as possible.

“I gave up preparing. I am just whatever. Beat me,” Diaz said in a recent pre-fight interview. “I have been stuck in the cage for a long time. And I gotta do what I gotta do to get the f**k out. Whether I fight the toughest guy, whatever you want to make him or call him. Or anybody I am like, I am just ready to rock and roll,” he added.

Following his statements, a lot of supporters expressed concern for Stockton’s second child in an Instagram post where Diaz appeared to be in poorer form than he had been before the UFC 263 fight with Leon Edwards.

 

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Khamzat Chimaev feels he is UFC’s ‘paid killer’ for Nate Diaz

Ever since his debut in the promotion ‘Borz’ has been rag-dolling his opponents one after the other to reach the pinnacle of UFC’s welterweight division.

The Russian-born fighter is currently undefeated in his MMA career and holds a six-fight win streak in the UFC. While envisioning the results of his fight with Diaz, Chimaev said, “Make some money and smash his head, you know? Have some fun. The UFC wants me to kill that guy. I have to do it. I say always, I’m like a killer, you know. They pay for me. I take his head.” 

When asked if he is the hitman for UFC, Chimaev said, “Yeah, I’m like that.” ‘Lone Wolf’ has a good momentum coming into this bout. Meanwhile, Diaz is on a two-fight skid and also has an age disadvantage in this fight. Thus, many were already critical of this match-up by the UFC. And now Diaz’s admission of not training for this bout has only added to the level of worry.

How do you guys think Diaz will fare against Chimaev?

About the author

Afnan Chougle

Afnan Chougle

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Afnan Chougle is a UFC author and content manager at The SportsRush. Afnan has written over 900 articles about combat sports before joining The SportsRush. He has now worked in the industry for over two years. He uses his expertise and enthusiasm to advance his professional career and offers insightful commentary on anything related to combat sports. Since UFC 229, Khabib Nurmagomedov fan Afnan has faithfully followed MMA. Besides "The Eagle," Muhammad Ali is his favorite athlete. Apart from his professional exploits as a UFC journalist, Afnan enjoys honing his skills as an amateur actor/boxer and loves going on occasional treks.

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