Nate Diaz has one of the biggest fights of his career on tap this week, and that’s saying something.
Diaz (20-13 MMA, 15-11 UFC), one of the most popular fighters in UFC history, takes on unbeaten rising star Khamzat Chimaev (11-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) in the UFC 279 main event Saturday in Las Vegas. It’s not often a non-title fight headlines a UFC pay-per-view, so when that happens, fans can be reasonably assured there’s heat and high intrigue behind the matchup.
In this case, Diaz is a massive underdog against Chimaev. And he’s also fighting the last bout on his contract with the UFC. He’s been highly critical of the promotion over the years, and that hasn’t changed in the buildup to this fight. He thinks the UFC is giving a push to Chimaev and not using him to promote the event to the same degree.
It seems the biggest likelihood for Diaz, win or lose Saturday, is that he’ll move on from the UFC to a different pasture – and there are plenty of options, even outside MMA like boxing or BKFC.
Is this the last time we’ll see him in the octagon? Or can we expect the unexpected and after all his public gripes about the UFC, will he re-sign with the promotion?
That’s the question we asked our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Dan Tom and Danny Segura, who discussed the topic with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. You can watch their conversation in the video above, or check out this week’s full episode below.