Dana White could keep Nate Diaz in the UFC by offering him a welterweight world title shot if he beats Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279 next month.
Diaz has been pushing to get one final fight and be allowed out of his contract with the promotion after spending over 15 years with MMA's top organisation. And after being unable to secure a more favourable match-up, he has taken on the treacherous task of facing super-prospect Chimaev on September 10.
The Swede is currently No.3 at welterweight, but should Kamaru Usman beat Leon Edwards this weekend he will be the highest-ranked fighter in the division who the champion hasn't already beaten twice, under the Brit and Colby Covington. He has burst onto the UFC scene with a series of quick-fire wins before a gritty war with No.4-ranked Gilbert Burns.
And Diaz is a monstrous underdog against Chimaev, having lost three of the four fights he has had in the last six years. It is widely believed that Chimaev will move forward to a world title opportunity with a win over Diaz, and legendary former middleweight and light-heavyweight title challenger Chael Sonnen believes White may try to entice the California native back if he gets an upset.
"We all think we're experts on Nate and we all think we know what's going on with Nate," Sonnen told fans in a video on his YouTube channel. "But Nate is not as clear as you think. So when Dana says this is a number one contendership and anything is possible, that's what he's talking about.
"He's talking about the possibility of getting Diaz back, of having a different conversation, something different to offer Nate. But before he's going to have that offer, he has to see Nate defeat Chimaev."
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White has previously intimated that Chimaev will be given a title opportunity with a win, and is refusing to rule out Diaz despite his massive underdog tag. But there would be outrage amongst fighters if Diaz were to get a shot at gold on the back of one win since the summer of 2019 just because he managed to get past a top prospect.
“I don’t ever do that s*** but it’s fair to say if he wins that one, that’s the fight to make," White responded when asked if a Chimaev win would earn him a world title opportunity. "Usman's already beat everybody twice at the top so that makes sense.
“It’s huge, especially if he wins that Nate fight, by the way, I did a bunch of media today and everybody’s counting Nate Diaz out. It’s just like people counting Leon Edwards out. You can’t count anybody out. In this sport you never know what’s going to happen. Anything is possible.”
