UFC President Dana White tried justifying the promotion's booking of disgruntled star, Nate Diaz against undefeated contender Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279 on September 10.
White spoke with the media at the post-fight press conference following the debut of the newest season of his Contender Series on Tuesday and explained why it made sense for the UFC to make the Diaz-Chimaev matchup. The bout will be the last on the 37-year-old Stockton, California native's current contract with the promotion. He's 1-3 in his last four Octagon appearances, while Chimaev is ranked third in the UFC's latest welterweight rankings and is coming off a thrilling unanimous decision win over former title challenger, Gilbert Burns, back at UFC 273.
“I care about Nate a lot,” White said (h/t MMA Fighting). “I like Nate, and Nate came in here, long before that fight was ever made, and we were talking about it being his last fight, and I said, ‘Listen, kid. You think about the wars that Nate Diaz has put on and the incredible fights and the big fights that he’s done with us, go do whatever you want to do, man. But getting a fight done with him isn’t as easy as seems. Everybody’s like, ‘Well, why don’t you make a fight?’ Well, he asked for Francis Ngannou. I could go on forever, but I won’t. We got it done. That’s the fight he wanted. We made it, and here we are. And it’s a good fight. It’s a fight people want to see. It’s a fight that people will be interested in, so we’re going to do it.”
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