MMA’s great icon Nate Diaz was almost upstaged by a new heel to cap a weird, wild UFC fight week

LAS VEGAS — One of the weirdest, wildest fight weeks in UFC history ended with a roar Saturday as Nate Diaz leaves the market-leading MMA firm with a win, making himself available to rival companies as a free agent. Before Diaz entered the Octagon in Las Vegas, and as a DJ began to play “Gimme Shelter” by the Rolling Stones, happy fans at the T-Mobile Arena lit marijuana as their icon had returned to the battleground. The pot-smoking, Stockton-slapping, ultimate-fighting veteran made his entrance to tremendous fan reaction while his late replacement opponent Tony Ferguson, a fellow Californian, waited for him inside the cage.

This was never supposed to be the main event. No. Khamzat Chimaev, who obliterated Kevin Holland in the bout prior, was originally scheduled to take on Diaz.

It would have been a brutal send-off for Diaz, as the Chechen-Swede has grown to become one of the scariest fighters in the entire sport since his UFC debut at Fight Island in 2020. However, Chimaev scaled 178. 5-pounds at Friday’s weigh-in, missing the 170-pound welterweight limit.

This, combined with an apparent backstage riot during Thursday’s press conference, led to a strange and whacky week. UFC boss Dana White canceled the midweek presser much to the chagrin of the public who had attended. White told Insider and other reporters after Saturday’s show that the Nevada State Athletic Commission would never have sanctioned a fight between Chimaev and Diaz because of the weight discrepancy.

Instead, we got a reshuffled card with three fights changing complexion, meaning six athletes were competing against opponents different to the ones they’d been preparing for during their entire camps. The UFC offered refunds at the gate but White claimed not one person took the company up on the offer, and they instead sold an additional 250 tickets. Not many will have been disappointed.

If Diaz had fought Chimaev, few would have backed him to leave the Octagon triumphant But in the rearranged bout against Tony Ferguson, a fellow combat sports OG, Diaz excelled thanks to his signature cardio, ability to absorb a shot, and his jiu jitsu. There was a great amount of showboating during the contest with Diaz, at one point, hanging off the fence of the cage as if he had not one care in the world. Maybe he hadn’t.

Despite rallies from Ferguson, which consisted of boxing and swift kicks, Diaz closed the show in the fourth when he thumped Ferguson with a hard left hand. Sensing the damage had shaken his opponent, Diaz threw more strikes which prompted Ferguson to look for a takedown. However, this just played into Diaz’s wheelhouse as he applied a guillotine choke and forced a tap.

The crowd erupted. It was all over. Victory advanced Diaz’s pro MMA record to 21 wins (five knockouts, 12 submissions, and four decisions) against 13 losses.

But, really, Diaz’s night was only just getting started. There was still the question mark that surrounded his future — whether he’d re-sign with the UFC, test free agency, or organize boxing matches against big-name opponents like other former MMA fighters such as Anderson Silva have done. At a post-fight press conference Insider attended, Diaz entered the media tent at the side of the T-Mobile Arena, asked reporters if anyone had any beer, and, when told there was none in the tent, he walked to a corner and lit a spliff.

He then sat down and confirmed he’ll be leaving the UFC. “It was the finishing touch on my contract” at the UFC, Diaz told Insider and other reporters. “I have no plans on being back in the UFC,” he said, adding, in a somewhat cryptic manner: “I have no plans on not being back in the UFC.

” He said he’d be ringside for Jake Paul’s celebrity boxing match against Anderson Silva, and is interested in finishing a trilogy with his old rival Conor McGregor — even if it’s outside the UFC. Should Diaz ever want to return to the UFC, he’d get welcomed by White. “This is his house,” White told Insider and other reporters.

“He’s been here forever. It’s been a blast having him here and you know I wish him well. ” Khamzat Chimaev, an unbeaten fighter who has one of the most intimidating auras in combat sports, was a breakout star in 2020 because of his run throughout the pandemic on Fight Island.

He blasted past John Phillips in his UFC debut little more than two years ago, finished Rhys McKee with punches 10 days later, and then beat Gerald Meerschaert without breaking a sweat in just 17 seconds later that year. He returned to Fight Island and submitted Li Jingliang in 2021, edged Gilbert Burns in a Fight of the Year bout earlier this year, and, on Saturday, submitted Kevin Holland without even taking a punch in return. Chimaev has many of the essential ingredients to become a superstar but, because he missed weight by such a considerable margin, he was booed like a supervillain.

When UFC commentator Joe Rogan asked him about the excess weight, rather than apologize, he said he didn’t even care. It was a masterclass in how to infuriate a crowd who already seemed to hate you. “I’m the most dangerous guy here,” said Chimaev.

“I’m coming for everyone. I kill everyone. I’m going to go through everybody.

Nobody can stop me. ” It is unclear where Chimaev goes from here. He was a near-lock for a shot at the UFC welterweight championship, but even UFC boss White seemed unamused at the inability to make the weight.

Elsewhere on the card, Daniel Rodriguez scored a slim win over Li Jingliang, Johnny Walker submitted Ion Cutelaba before getting thrown out of the arena with hardly any clothes on, and Chris Barnett sealed one of the most chaotic wins of the summer when he came back from the brink to finish Jake Collier. The UFC remains in Las Vegas for a Contender Series event Tuesday at the Apex before hosting a UFC Fight Night show at the same arena Saturday. .