“If this fight happens, everybody should go to jail. Everybody should go to jail. I should go to jail. The UFC, everybody”.
Nick Diaz has been suggested as a potential opponent for rising UFC welterweight Khamzat Chimaev, who is set to return to the Octagon later this year after a prolonged and troubling battle with COVID-19.
Chimaev hasn’t revealed his thoughts on the matchup but Dominance MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz says putting ‘Borz’ in the same cage as Diaz should result in criminal charges for all parties involved.
“If this fight happens, everybody should go to jail. Everybody should go to jail. I should go to jail. The UFC, everybody. This is criminal,” Abdelaziz said to ESPN (h/t Hunter Brownstein of ESPN). “How are you gonna make Khamzat Chimaev, one of the most upcoming fighters, to fight a guy like Nick Diaz. It’s not even right.
“I’m not taking anything away from Nick. Nick had his time, he built his legacy. But I don’t wanna see this [fight]. If it happens, I’m not trying to go to jail. Khamzat’s not trying to go to jail. Because it will not be good.”
Abdelaziz would prefer to see Chimaev matched up with no. 9-ranked welterweight Neil Magny, who is 3-1 in his last four fights.
“Listen, I know one guy. I’m gonna give him a little bit of clout. He said he’s gonna slap Khamzat and he has a fight coming up,” Abdelaziz said. “Neil Magny, right. I think this is the fight to make if he wins.”
For what it’s worth, Diaz’ manager Kevin Mubenga isn’t interested in the matchup either, with the latter claiming Chimaev isn’t a worthy opponent.
It won’t be Khamzat Chimaev, so who do you think is a “deserving opponent” for Nick Diaz?
(via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/IUjOqUOzIp
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 1, 2021
Diaz is expected to return to the UFC after a six-year hiatus. His last win came in 2011, when he battered UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn in the UFC 137 main event.