Gaethje says Oliveira will ‘walk through hell like Khabib’; Diaz responds

Justin Gaethje and Nate Diaz had a brief social media exchange over comments made about UFC 274.

Title contender Justin Gaethje recently spoke to Megan Olivi on ESPN about his upcoming championship bout with Charles Oliveira at UFC 274. According to him, the champ will have to “walk through hell” to get the fight on the mat as Khabib Nurmagomedov did during their UFC 254 title fight in 2020.

“He’s gonna have to walk through hell like Khabib did,” Gaethje said of Oliveira. “And he’s not as powerful. He doesn’t have the structure, he doesn’t have the frame, and he doesn’t have explosive takedowns. He’s gonna have to find me making a mistake, overreaching, and try to get into a grappling situation.

“Outside that, he better be praying every day that he gets me to the ground. ‘Cause if not, it’s gonna be the same night as Chandler, except (for) five rounds. And if I went five rounds with Chandler, he would’ve died. And that’s the truth, so I’m glad we didn’t go five rounds.”

These comments eventually reached UFC superstar Nate Diaz, who had this to say in response.

Gaethje also got wind of Diaz’s comments and fired back.

There’s a slim chance for these two to meet, especially given Diaz’s situation. The 37-year-old veteran has one fight left in his current contract, but he’s once again called for his UFC release out of frustration for not getting the fights that he wants.

As for Gaethje, he will face Oliveira this weekend in his home state of Arizona. Co-headlining the event is a strawweight title fight between Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza. Right before it is a top-ten contender fight at 155 pounds between Michael Chandler and Tony Ferguson.