UFC fans believe the promotion is intentionally putting on the "worst card of all time" for Nate Diaz 's final fight.
Diaz fights out of his contract next month against unbeaten welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of UFC 279 on September 10. It's a tough fight for the UFC veteran Diaz, who only has one win in the past six years whilst Chimaev has won all five of his UFC appearances since being signed to the promotion two years ago.
It's less than a month away from the card and a co-main event is yet to be announced. Other than the main event between Diaz and Chimaev, there are a clear lack of contenders on the card. The quality of the event has led many fans to speculate the promotion are intentionally putting together a weak card given the fight is Diaz's last in the promotion.
What are your thoughts on the UFC 279 card? Let us know in the comments section below
"Diaz gets pay-per-view points and is not re-signing. The UFC is putting together the worst card of all time so Diaz makes as little as possible while also shooting his 'draw power' down before a boxing match gets made," one user wrote. Another added: "They’re trying to undermine Diaz as much as possible by giving him a lesser card."
For months Diaz was struggling to book a fight despite being linked with matchups against Dustin Poirier, Vicente Luque and Tony Ferguson. He finally settled on Chimaev as an opponent for his swansong, with the Chechen promising the fight will be the "funeral" of Diaz's UFC career. Chimaev is a huge favourite heading into the fight and some fans think Diaz doesn't stand a chance against him.
"Mark my words this will be one of the worst pay-per-views in recent history. It's a predictable fight with a predictable outcome. Of course anything can happen in a fight but extremely weak card for the price," a third user added. UFC boss White has defended the quality of the card and insists the promotion are still working on adding several fights to the event.
"We're working on that today, we're going to throw a few more fights [on the card], not just one. It's going to be a good card." White told reporters. The UFC boss also defended the decision to match Diaz up against the unbeaten Chimaev, stating: "I did a bunch of media today and everybody is counting Nate Diaz out. It's almost like people are counting Leon Edwards out [against Kamaru Usman], you can't count anybody out. In this sport, you never know what is going to happen. Anything is possible."
