UFC 279’s Nate Diaz caught Khamzat Chimaev off guard by accepting the fight

Chimaev is astonished that Diaz signed a contract for their fight. The two MMA stars will fight at UFC 279 in Las Vegas on Sept. 10.

Diaz (20-13 MMA, 18-12 UFC) said he was promised Chimaev (11-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) several times but felt insulted, so Chimaev is astonished the fight really happened.

“Yeah, of course (I’m surprised), because he himself tells the interviews (this is) a bad matchup for him,” Chimaev told The Mac Life. “Like, I can smash that guy easy. The guy is getting older. He’s not that guy that beat McGregor. He’s not that young guy.

“This is his last fight. He’s going to lose this fight and go do some boxing sh*t. I’ll kill him, I’ll kick his ass, and let him go.”

After Diaz’s fight with Chimaev, he will be released from his contract with the UFC and will be able to pursue a career as a free agent.

Chimaev has every intention of knocking out Diaz, who is 37 years old, but he respects him for agreeing to fight. Chimaev is confident that he will win.

“He’s a warrior,” Chimaev said. “Nobody can take that away from him. He comes to fight until the last second. Like he said always, kill or be killed. He’s doing all the time. Respect for him to take the fight. It’s a bad fight for him.”