Midnight Mania! UFC ‘F—ked Up’ Booking Diaz Vs. Khamzat

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By and large, the MMA world was not terribly excited by the announcement of UFC 279’s headlining match, Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev. Chimaev is an absolutely massive favorite due to the simple facts that he’s a nightmarish match up for Diaz, the bigger and stronger man, and over a decade younger. The fight also just doesn’t make that much sense given Diaz’s unranked position, whereas “Borz” is closing in on a title shot and has admitted he doesn’t even need the fight for his career.

To many, it sure feels like UFC just wants to end Diaz’s 14-year employment with a loss. UFC President Dana White has dismissed that idea as a falsehood perpetuated by “f—king morons,” yet the sentiment remains.

A surprising source of criticism is Leon Edwards, who recently addressed the match up at a media scrum in London. Despite having fairly recently battered Diaz himself (barring a moment of boredom), Edwards argues that the promotion messed up by not giving Diaz a more reasonable match up.

“If I had to put money on it I’d probably go Khamzat – but I’d love Nate to get it done,” Edwards said (via MMAJunkie). “He’s done so much for the company and I wish they gave him a veteran, a nice fight to bow out to. To give an up-and-coming guy that’s had four or five fights in the UFC, and a wrestler guy as well – I think they f—ked up. They should’ve gave him a better fight. But I would love Nate to get it done. But as I said, if I’m a betting man I’d probably go with Khamzat.”

Though Edwards wishes Diaz well in his future endeavors, “Rocky” his bigger things to focus on. The English athlete is scheduled to rematch Kamaru Usman for the Welterweight title at UFC 278 on Aug. 20, an opportunity Edwards has been chasing for a very long time.

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