Dana White answers if he considered giving Francis Ngannou fight to Nate Diaz

Dana White recently addressed the criticisms the UFC has received for booking Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev. The fight will be the last on the 37-year-old's promotional contract.

Speaking to TMZ Sports, the UFC president stated that it was Diaz who asked for the matchup before insisting that the Stockton native also called for a fight with UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou:

"The people that are saying that obviously didn't read where Nate said, 'I asked for this fight.' So, it's true and he also asked for Francis Ngannou, okay? So, if I was putting him out to get slaughtered, Francis Ngannou would probably be the fight to give him."

When asked if he considered booking Diaz in a fight with 'The Predator', White responded:

"No, not even for a second!"

During an episode of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Nate Diaz deemed Francis Ngannou and middleweight king Israel Adesanya to be the only two worthy opponents for him. However, those would obviously be bizarre matchups considering the size difference between him and the African-born champions.

Catch Dana White's interaction with TMZ Sports below:

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Dana White on Nate Diaz being a huge underdog against Khamzat Chimaev

Khamzat Chimaev has opened up as a gigantic betting favorite over Nate Diaz in most popular sportsbooks. However, Dana White believes that the experienced Diaz shouldn't be as big of an underdog against someone like 'Borz' who is relatively new to the sport.

Speaking to Aaron Bronsteter of The Sports Network, the UFC chief stated that Chimaev should not be an overwhelming favorite considering his inexperience:

"This is a sport where nobody is that big of a favorite. Anybody can win at any given time... let’s not forget this about Khamzat Chimaev. As badass as he is... he doesn’t have all the experience all of these other people have. Nate Diaz is durable, he’s been in there with everybody and it’s his last fight going out, nobody is that big of an underdog."

It’s been over a year since Diaz lost a unanimous decision to Leon Edwards. Prior to the defeat, the 37-year-old suffered a TKO (doctor's stoppage) loss against Jorge Masvidal in late 2019.

Meanwhile, Khamzat Chimaev continues to rise in the promotion, most recently outpointing Gilbert Burns in April. The Chechen-born Swede is expected by many to run through Diaz when the pair finally collide at UFC 279 on September 10.