Khamzat Chimaev, who has pledged to devour Nate Diaz for breakfast before their battle, is not lacking in confidence.
On September 10, Diaz faces rising talent Chimaev in the final match of his UFC contract. When the bout got announced last week, many fans had negative things to say about it because Chimaev was about to get a shot at the welterweight title while Diaz hadn’t won in nearly three years.
Chimaev acknowledges that he respects Diaz and that he grew up watching the UFC veteran, who has been competing for more than 15 years. In addition to pledging to make Diaz’s farewell into a “funeral,” “Borz” also declared:
“I am happy he’s fighting with me, he is one of the legends. One of the people that everyone calls a gangster but we are going to show who is the gangster. Like I said before we are from Chechnya… we grew up in the war. We eat the gangsters for breakfast,” he said on The MMA Hour.
“That skinny boy. I’m just waiting for the 10th of September” – Khamzat Chimaev
Following his gruelling victory over Gilbert Burns in April, Chimaev shot up to No. 3 in the welterweight rankings. After the win, “Borz” was mentioned as a potential opponent for Colby Covington. Still, leaked UFC matches revealed that he and Diaz were scheduled to fight at UFC 276 earlier this month. Despite the bout being confirmed, Chimaev gave reasons for doubting Diaz’s attendance on September 10.
“I still don’t believe that guy’s going to come and show up,” Chimaev added. “That skinny boy. We will see what’s happening. I’m just waiting for the 10th of September – it doesn’t matter who. If he wants to fight at 185lb, then we can do that… just show up. I can fight at 185 or 205lb, it doesn’t matter.”
Chimaev acknowledged that he grew up watching many of the UFC veteran’s battles as he reflected on the booking against Diaz. When Diaz, who has participated in over 30 professional fights, made his MMA debut in 2004, the Chechen was only ten years old. I responded that’s wonderful for us when my manager told me it was finished, Chimaev continued.
“Make money, make good names, the guy’s going out. Nate said he doesn’t like me but I like that guy, I grew up on him. I was in school when he was fighting in the UFC. It’s amazing to fight that guy, and I like him because for me UFC, when I was young, it was like the movies. Now, I fight with the guys that I was watching.”
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