Nate Diaz will return inside the octagon in what could most likely be the last fight of his UFC career against Khamzat Chimaev in a five-round main event bout at UFC 279. This highly anticipated welterweight showdown will take place on September 10th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Interestingly, many fight fans and experts have written off The Stockton Slugger and have predicted that Diaz will lose and suffer a brutal beatdown. However, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Cris Cyborg disagrees with the opinion of the majority.
She believes that Nate Diaz has the tools to defeat Chimaev. While having a conversation with MMA journalist James Lynch, Cyborg praised Diaz’s cardio and predicted how the fight would end.
“Everybody I think is really tough but Nathan have a good cardio. He’s very great great boxer and I think this fight is going to be the differences to BJJ. You know he can fight with his back in the floor. I think he can submit this guy and I think he has good cardio. This is going to be a great fight. It’s going to be tough, yes but I believe he can win the fight.”
There is no doubt that Nate Diaz has great cardio and is one of the most durable fighters in the UFC. Therefore it wouldn’t be an easy fight for Khamzat Chimaev by any means.
How can Nate Diaz defeat Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279?
Both Khamzat Chimaev and Nate Diaz are extremely dangerous on the ground as they have great submission skills. However, the Stockton’s Own will have to defend the takedown attempts of Chimaev in order to have any chance to win the fight.
Diaz cannot perform as he did against Leon Edwards as Chimaev has the strength to ragdoll his opponents and submit them instantly. So the most important thing would be to defend takedowns and try to take the fight to the distance and outstrike him.
Because Khamzat faced a lot of problems as the fight progressed against Gilbert Burns as he looked tired and absorbed a lot of damage. As mentioned earlier, Nate has great cardio and will be much more effective with his striking as the fight goes to the fourth and fifth rounds.
It will be very tough for Nate to win this fight as Chimaev has shown his durability and power against a top contender like Gilbert Burns in his last fight. However, it is not impossible for Diaz to outclass Khamzat as he has the skillset.
Do let us know in the comments section who you think will win the UFC 279 main event matchup between Khamzat Chimaev and Nate Diaz.