Nate Diaz has hit out at Khabib Nurmagomedov in a heated rant, calling the undefeated former lightweight champion a "scared fighter".
The Russian was inducted into the UFC's Hall of Fame this month, but Diaz laughed off the suggestion that he was any sort of legend in the sport, mocking his level of competition. There were talks at one point of Diaz and Nurmagomedov fighting after an altercation backstage at an event, but it never came to pass before his retirement in 2020.
And Diaz believes that inducting Nurmagomedov into the Hall of Fame hurts the legitimacy of the honour, insisting that it is now a "joke". The American is currently at loggerheads with the UFC, and wants out of his exclusive contract with the promotion in an effort to explore other avenues.
“Khabib’s a f***ing little b**** too,” Diaz said during a special appearance on The MMA Hour last night. “Who did he beat for the title? He got Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. They’ve both been finished off over and over the same way that he beat them. You ain’t no good.
“You were a scared fighter, scared of fighting the whole time, and now you’re in the Hall of Fame - I was here before the Hall of Fame even showed up actually. Now you’re a Hall of Famer. Whatever. I don’t even want nothing to do with the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is a joke too.”
Diaz is one of the most recognisable and beloved fighters in the UFC after a lengthy career in the sport. He shot to mainstream fame in 2016 with his win over Conor McGregor, who at the time was seemingly unbeatable in the promotion and the featherweight champion.
But he has struggled to capitalise as he would like on his fame since, fighting just four times since and going 1-3. He has been making big money on his new contract, but now just wants to fight as soon as possible so that he can get out of his contract and move on to new challenges in other promotions, or even new sports like jiu-jitsu and boxing.
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"They're slow-rolling me," he explained. "They're trying to keep me under contract. And I've been doing all I can. I've never asked for so many fights in my life. Even right now, they're not letting me get in there and finish my contract.
"I don't want no more money. I want to go do different stuff. There's stuff out there for me to do, and I went in there and talked to them, and it's with all due respect. You're not going to let me go?
"I've just had to deal with this more like I've been, like repeatedly trying to get the f*** out? It's my main concern every day. I train every day. I wake up and I train and I try to figure out how to deal with it."
