Khamzat Chimaev has claimed he offered to pay Nate Diaz his $2million purse to fight him at UFC 279 last night.
Chimaev and Diaz were due to clash in the Las Vegas main event but the Swede came in 7.5lb heavy on Friday which led to the bout being cancelled. Chimaev ultimately fought, and choked out, Kevin Holland, while Diaz submitted Tony Ferguson to end his UFC career on a high.
But Chimaev insists he was willing to forfeit his entire purse to ensure his fight with Diaz went ahead. "I could make that weight, the doctor stopped that," he told ESPN. "So yeah, what I could do now? I was waiting [to see what] UFC said to me. I said I want to fight so I'll give all my money to that guy.
"This was almost two million... so I said give all my money to that guy, let him fight. If he is that gangster, he should fight for money. But he didn't want to fight me, you know. So, who's the gangster now?" Diaz was ultimately compensated for having to change opponent as he ended his stint with the promotion on a high.
"I was like if you want to switch people on me on one f****ng day after I've just cut 15 pounds to make me change my opponent, you've got to give me more money than you give all of the champions in this organisation," he said. "They were like, 'Stupid we already gave you...' then I was like, 'Well I want more than that then'. When asked how much he was given by the UFC, Diaz hilariously replied "I lost count".
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Diaz confirmed he plans to leave the UFC - but vowed to return to the promotion before he retires from fighting. "All I know is it's been a love-hate relationship with me and the UFC," he said. "I did it today. I love the UFC. Shout out to [UFC President] Dana White. I feel like I've had the longest career in the UFC and the most successful one.
"I want to get out of the UFC for a little bit and show all these UFC fighters how to takeover and own up another sport how you're supposed to do it." At the post-fight press conference, Diaz added: "I have no plans on not being back in the UFC."
