While Nate
Diaz and Khamzat
Chimaev didn’t end up meeting in the UFC
279 main event as originally anticipated, both gave
performances to remember on Saturday night.
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Diaz submitted Tony
Ferguson with a guillotine choke in the fourth round of the
card’s new headliner to fulfill the final fight on his UFC
contract. After the victory, Diaz hinted that he would be willing
to return to the UFC some time in the future after he explores
other options. If that’s the case, UFC president Dana White would
welcome him back with open arms.
“No matter what Nate does from here on out, this is his house,”
White said at the post-fight press conferene. “He’s been here
forever. It’s been a blast having him here. I wish him well. He and
I had this discussion months ago at the offices. Whatever he moves
on to do, I wish him nothing but the best. If he’s starting his own
organization or getting into promoting or doing something else, I
wish him nothing but the best of luck. It’s been awesome having him
here.”
Diaz vs. Ferguson itself was a fight that was entertaining at
times, bizarre at others. Overall, White believes it delivered what
it was supposed to deliver.
“They’re both older guys that have been around here for a long
time,” he said. “It was what I expected.”
Chimaev, meanwhile, missed weight badly but was completely dominant
in a first-round submission of Kevin
Holland in a 180-pound catchweight bout. White was taken aback
by how easily Chimaev dispatched Holland.
“I don’t know if anybody expected him to do exactly what he did,”
White said. “You don’t know what to expect from that guy. This is
like his fourth fight where he hasn’t even taken a punch. He’s an
absolute f—ing freak of nature. I don’t think anybody expected
that, especially against Kevin.”
However, White did acknowledge that Chimaev’s issues on the scale
will have to be addressed. A potential move to middleweight could
be in the cards if he can’t consistently make the welterweight
limit.
“It’s a problem that he missed weight,” White said. “We’ve got to
look at it and figure it out. What makes sense is for him to fight
at [middleweight]. We’ll see.”