Nate Diaz ‘turned down $2million to fight Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279’, claims rival after failing to make weight
KHAMZAT CHIMAEV has claimed Nate Diaz turned down $2MILLION to take him on at UFC 279 last night.
Diaz and Chimaev were scheduled to meet in the main event in Las Vegas, until the latter missed weight by seven-and-a-half pounds.
Tony Ferguson was drafted in at late notice to take on Diaz, 37, while Chimaev instead faced Kevin Holland.
But Chimaev, 28, claimed the Diaz fight could still have gone ahead after he offered the American ALL of his earnings from the bout.
And the Swedish fighter accused Diaz of refusing his proposal.
Chimaev told ESPN: “I could make that weight, the doctor stopped that.
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“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 submitted Ferguson with a guillotine choke in the fourth round in his final UFC fight, before vowing to “take over” boxing.
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While Chimaev submitted Holland in the first round of their hastily arranged fight.
Diaz meanwhile revealed he was paid compensation by the UFC after Chimaev missed weight.
He said: “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.
“They were like, ‘Stupid we already gave you…’ then I was like, ‘Well I want more than that then’.
When asked how much the UFC gave him, Diaz replied: “I lost count.”