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Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev Bout Verbally Agreed to for UFC 279 Fight Card
July 19, 2022
Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev have reached a verbal agreement to fight at UFC 279 on Sept. 10 in Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena.
UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell relayed the news to ESPN's Brett Okamoto. The Saturday night fight would be a five-round main event, and it would also serve as the last bout of Diaz's UFC contract.
Chimaev provided a clear and succinct comment about the upcoming fight to Okamoto:
Diaz had been asking his release from the UFC on Twitter if he didn't get a fight imminently.
However, it appears that one final fight in Diaz's contract will come to fruition.
The 28-year-old Chimaev is 11-0 as a professional with six knockouts and four submission victories. The Russian-born Swede most recently defeated Gilbert Burns by unanimous decision at UFC 273 in April. Chimaev is ranked as the No. 3 contender for the UFC welterweight belt held by champion Kamaru Usman.
Diaz is 20-13 lifetime. The 37-year-old most recently lost to No. 2 welterweight contender Leon Edwards via unanimous decision at UFC 263 in June 2021. His resume includes wins over Conor McGregor, Anthony Pettis, Jim Miller and Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone.
