UFC 279 is headlined by a Welterweight bout between Russian-born Swede, Khamzat Chimaev and former UFC Lightweight Championship challenger and The Ultimate Fighter 5 Liightweight winner, Nate Diaz. Chimaev, who has climbed up to number three in the Welterweight rankings has impressed in his UFC career winning Performance of the Night bonus awards, stoppages and submissions. American Diaz comes into this fight as the underdog just as in most of his recent bouts. The 37-year-old comes into the bout on a two-match skid and is on the last fight of his current UFC contract.
MMA: UFC Middleweight
Location: T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada
Date: 11.09.2022, 07:00
Where to watch: ESPN+
Khamzat Chimaev
In his last fight in April, Chimaev defeated Gilbert Burns to get the first decision win of his career. The encounter was tough and arduous and was awarded Fight of the Night. The unanimous win preserved Chimaev’s undefeated record. ‘Borz’ debuted in the promotion at UFC on ESPN 13 in 2020 with a second-round submission of John Philips earning his first Performance of the Night award. His resume includes wins over Li Jingliang and Gerald Meerschaert. The 17-second stoppage of Meerschaert earned him the new record of the fastest three-fight winning streak in modern UFC history at 66 days. He has won four Performance of the Night awards in UFC.
However, Nate Diaz, you can’t ever count him out. He’s very well-rounded, he’s very durable, and it will take a lot to try and put him away. But Khamzat, it’s going to be a tough challenge because he only went the distance in his last fight, I believe, and I think he grew incredibly from that fight, he learned a lot. So I think we’re going to see a better version of Khamzat, still better than what he was. So it’s going to be an interesting fight.
Georges St-Pierre (UFC Hall of Famer)
Khamzat Chimaev, Tale of the Tape
- Age: 28
- Height: 6’ 2”
- Reach: 75”
- Total fights: 11
- Record: 11-0-0
Nate Diaz
Veteran American mixed martial artist, Nate Diaz has competed in the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions of UFC. He has garnered several records in the promotions including eight times Fight of the Night winner, and five times winner of Submission of the Night award. He is tied with Jim Miller for most submission wins in UFC Lightweight division history. In 2016, he defeated Conor McGregor via unanimous decision in a Fight of the Night encounter. He subsequently lost the rematch via majority decision. After a two-year hiatus occasioned by Covid-19, he lost to Leon Edwards via unanimous decision. Edwards controlled most of the match but almost lost it in the last round when a resurgent Nate Diaz hit Edwards with a straight left hand that nearly caused an upset in the final minute of the fight.
Like, I can smash that guy easy. The guy is getting older. He’s not that guy that beat McGregor. He’s not that young guy. This is his last fight. He’s going to lose this fight and go do some boxing sh*t. I’ll kill him, I’ll kick his ass, and let him go.
Khamzat Chimaev
Nate Diaz, Tale of the Tape
- Age: 37
- Height: 6’ 0”
- Reach: 76”
- Total fights: 33
- Record: 20-13-0
Betting odds
Diaz is a massive underdog in this fight. The oddsmakers have given him 7.00 odds to win against 1.10 odds price for a Khamzat win on Bet365. With the number of stoppages in his career, a stake that the Swede will win by KO/TKO/DQ is priced at 2.048 on 1Xbet. That's a value bet in our opinion. Going a little safe, betting that the bout will go beyond 1.5 rounds is priced at 1.718 on 22BET.