Ahead of his UFC 279 headliner on September 10. – Nate Diaz has opened as an enormous betting underdog against the undefeated, Khamzat Chimaev – entering the final fight on his lengthy Octagon tenure.
Reports emerged last night detailing how Diaz and Chimaev had verbally agreed to headline a UFC 279 pay–per-view event on September 10. – with the former set to complete his contractual obligations with the organization as a result.
Last time out, back in June of last year, Diaz, who previously challenged for UFC lightweight gold, suffered a five round unanimous decision loss to Leon Edwards at UFC 263 in Glendale, Arizona.
Cracking the top-3 of the welterweight division back in April, Chimaev, a staple of AllStars MMA in Sweden, Chimaev defeated former title challenger, Gilbert Burns with a close, hard-fought unanimous judging success at UFC 273 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Nate Diaz opens as a monstrous betting underdog ahead of UFC 279
Viewed as somewhat of a likely mismatch given Chimaev’s dominant displays in the Octagon so far, online bookmaker, SportsBetting_ag have provided their opening lines for the September headliner – placing Chimaev as a stark betting favorite, with lines of -2000 available on the undefeated bruiser.
As for Nate Diaz, the Stockton native is placed as quite a massive betting underdog for the UFC 279 curtain closer, with odds opening at +1000 for The Ultimate Fighter 5 tournament winner.
A perpetual underdog when the bookies are concerned, Nate Diaz, incidentally most recently closed as a betting favorite back in April 2013 for his matchup with promotional alum, Josh Thomson – where he suffered an eventual second round high kick knockout defeat.
Issuing a stark warning to Diaz ahead of their headlining tilt, Chimaev released a brief statement, claiming he would be planning the Californian’s “funeral” to take place on September 10. at UFC 279.