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Khamzat Chimaev has revealed he doesn't care about the prospect of earning the biggest paycheck of his career when he faces Nate Diaz at UFC 279 in September.
MMA fans around the world lost their minds when it was announced that Nate Diaz would finally get an opponent for his last fight on his UFC contract. The more stunning news was that it was Khamzat Chimaev, a fight that Diaz had previously admitted he'd turned down.
The No.3-ranked Chimaev will put it all on the line when he faces the unranked fan favorite and veteran Diaz. The Chechen-born Swede has often been pushing for this fight on social media, trying to antagonize the Stockton native and it appears as though it's worked as the two men have signed on the dotted line.
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On the latest episode of The MMA Hour, Khamzat Chimaev revealed he's likely to have his biggest payday yet against Diaz but admitted it's not even on his mind:
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"It makes me even more famous when I beat him [Nate Diaz]. I don't care so much about that [money]. I don't care about that s**t. I'm happy with what I have now. If they give that [pay-per-view points], I will be happy. I hope so."
Despite Diaz being unranked, a win over the veteran for Chimaev will all but guarantee him a shot at the welterweight title. Who 'Borz' could potentially face will be decided when Kamaru Usman defends the 170lb strap against Leon Edwards next month.
Catch Khamzat Chimaev's full interview here:
Khamzat Chimaev believes he didn't need to accept Nate Diaz fight for welterweight title shot
Few fighters' rises in the UFC can be compared to that of Khamzat Chimaev. The 28-year-old has stunned just about everyone in each of his UFC appearances that have all been awarded a Performance or Fight of the Night bonus.
Although he must now conquer veteran Nate Diaz first, Chimaev revealed to Ariel Helwani that he didn't need to accept a fight with the 37-year-old to guarantee himself a welterweight title bout:
"I don't need to fight with Nate Diaz. If I wanted to wait, this is going to take a long time. Usman fights one time in one year now. He has everything. He has money. He is pound-for-pound number one. That's why he wants to wait. You know like, he takes a long time, he doesn't want to lose his belts."
The No.3-ranked welterweight believes his performance against Gilbert Burns was enough to justify a championship fight. However, he accepts that he would have had to wait a long time to fight Kamaru Usman next since he's already scheduled to face Leon Edwards in August.
