Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev Bout Verbally Agreed to for UFC 279 Fight Card

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.