UFC 279 to be headlined by Nate Diaz – Khamzat Chimaev

Some breaking news has just come through and Nate Diaz (20-13) finally has his UFC fight booked. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to break the news this afternoon that Diaz will be returning September 10th in Las Vegas against Khamzat Chimaev (11-0).

The non-title fight will serve as the PPV main event and will be five rounds. The UFC had been planning on Aljamain Sterling – TJ Dillashaw as the headliner for that card, but there was no comment on the status of that fight.

There have been some financial holdups on Sterling’s side and word is that the fight is being pushed back. Nevertheless, this fight is bigger despite there being no title on the line and it’s going to generate more PPV buys.

Khamzat Chimaev has turned into a star for the UFC and he’s knocking on the door of a title shot. Earlier this year, he had his first real test against former title challenger Gilbert Burns. In a Fight of the Year candidate, Chimaev outlasted the Brazilian.

He’s been calling for a fight with Nate Diaz and now the UFC has granted that wish. Considering where he is in the division and the hype surrounding this fight, a win will likely get him a shot at the winner of Kamaru Usman – Leon Edwards 2.

UFC finale for Diaz?

Nate Diaz has been asking for a fight for well over a year. The UFC originally wanted him to fight Chimaev last year, but Diaz wasn’t interested. He knew the game that was being played and he wanted a different fight. He had been calling for a fight with Dustin Poirier.

However, the UFC was not inclined to make that fight happen. They wanted to resign Diaz and kept pushing for that. It was rather obvious that they wanted to holdout for the Conor McGregor trilogy, but when Diaz kept calling for a fight, they offered Chimaev.

Diaz eventually agreed to the matchup, but there have been further delays in making it happen. However, those delays are no more and now Diaz has his final fight with the UFC set. Diaz recently said he might resign, but he wanted to test the market.