Nate Diaz has been open about his desire to retire from professional MMA for quite some time but it seems as though the UFC is not going to make things easy for him, as he’s potentially booked for a fight against rising star Khamzat Chimaev. There has been no official announcement just yet, but Dana White appeared on an episode of the Pivot Podcast recently with a board in the background behind him that appeared to show the main card of UFC 276. Eagle-eyed viewers didn’t miss a trick and a snapshot of the running order has been circulating on social media as a result.
The event is scheduled for Saturday, July 2nd, and the main event match appears to be a title fight between the reigning Middleweight world champion Israel Adesanya and challenger Jared Cannonier. The other fights look just as interesting, as Adesanya’s old Kickboxing foe Alex Pereira will also be fighting against Sean Strickland with fan-favorite Sean O’Malley coming up against Pedro Munhoz and Lauren Murphy facing Miesha Tate. The co-main event fight was what attracted the most attention however, as Nate Diaz was matched up against Khamzat Chimaev in what is sure to be an incredibly exciting fight.
Nate Diaz is one of the most popular fighters on the UFC roster thanks to his outlandish personality and penchant for exciting fights, so his retirement fight will undoubtedly draw plenty of viewers. But matching him against Khamzat Chimaev is truly a genius move by UFC brass, as Chimaev is one of the hottest prospects in the sport right now and could gain a lot by taking out a big name like Diaz. Stylistically, Diaz is a fantastic boxer and Chimaev has heavy hands but a lot of the fight could take place on the ground instead. Chimaev is a great wrestler who’s been able to use his ability there to win plenty of fights so far, but Diaz is more than capable of pulling off the upset from his back as a third degree BJJ black belt.
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) May 3, 2022
