Nate Diaz will fight out his UFC contract by taking on welterweight bogeyman Khamzat Chimaev.
Diaz and Chimaev have verbally agreed to fight over five rounds at UFC 279 in Las Vegas on September 10. The fight will likely see Diaz exit the promotion following a long and storied career.
The Californian has been at loggerheads with UFC president Dana White, claiming he has been held "hostage" amid his increasingly desperate attempts to leave the organisation. White denied his fighter's claims but faced a race against time to secure Diaz a fight before the end of October.
Diaz has not fought since he was outpointed by Leon Edwards last summer and has been increasingly fraught in his demands to be let out of his contract. He has even proposed a fight with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul which White appeared to agree to.
But he will instead walk the octagon for one final time as he brings the curtain down on a career which will largely be remembered for his two fights with Conor McGregor in 2016. Diaz inflicted a first UFC defeat on the Irishman in their first meeting, submitting McGregor in the second round, before losing the rematch on points five months later.
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Since then, Diaz has fought only three times, beating Anthony Pettis before losing to Jorge Masvidal and most recently Edwards. Chimaev, meanwhile, is one of the UFC's brightest prospects, winning his five fights in the organisation to take his overall record to 11-0.
He most recently outpointed former welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns after three back-and-forth rounds. Chimaev will expect victory over Diaz to propel him into a clash with the winner of Edwards' challenge for Kamaru Usman's 170lb title.
The welterweight meeting will be the main event at UFC 279, with bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling's second title defence against TJ Dillashaw moving to UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on October 22.
