UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal feels his former foe Nate Diaz is getting screwed over by the matchmakers with his upcoming fight against Khamzat Chimaev.
Diaz will face Chimaev in the UFC 279 headliner on Sept. 10. This is the last fight on Diaz’s UFC contract and he’s expressed little interest in re-signing with the promotion immediately following the upcoming fight.
The Diaz vs. Chimaev booking puts two of the biggest UFC fan favorites against one another in a five-round grudge match. Chimaev could potentially earn the next welterweight title shot with a victory.
But Masvidal feels that the UFC booked the Diaz vs. Chimaev matchup to spite Diaz amidst the drama between the Stockton star and the promotion.
During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Masvidal gave his take on the UFC’s matchmaking for Diaz’s last fight on his deal.
“They probably wanted to pair Diaz with somebody that stylistically is not the best when I think of what’s his face — fuckin’ Khamzat,” Masvidal said. “So they gave him a boring ass probably that’s probably just gonna try to hug his legs and sniff his crotch.”
Masvidal isn’t the only one who has criticized the UFC’s handling of Diaz’s final fight. While fans of both Diaz and Chimaev are excited about the fight, most feel that Diaz is being fed to an up-and-coming star unfairly as opposed to facing a proven veteran for his UFC swan song.
The odds are also heavily in Chimaev’s favor after he most recently defeated Gilbert Burns in a ‘Fight of the Year’ frontrunner at UFC 273. But, Chimaev went on to dismiss the odds and state that Diaz has plenty of elite experience to deserve more respect.
Despite some feeling uncomfortable with Diaz’s last UFC assignment, he’ll look to shock the world and take away Chimaev’s undefeated title at UFC 279.