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UFC superstar Nate Diaz wasn’t impressed with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov’s decision to wait-and-see about his retirement plans this year. It was either that, or Diaz simply didn’t like the idea of preparing for a move down to the 155-pound lightweight division without having the chance to be the one to dethrone Nurmagomedov.
Whatever the case, Diaz, 35, from Stockon, California, blasted the Russian dynamo via social media on Saturday following UFC president Dana White’s announcement that Nurmagomedov would wait to watch UFC 257 later this month to see if he wanted to return for one more fight.
Diaz posted, “[Khabib] is a p**** for real.”
Kabib is a a pussy for real
Nurmagomedov didn’t respond, but rising UFC welterweight star Makhachev Islam, one of the Khabib’s training partners, labeled Diaz a “clown” for the post.
Real Recognized Real: Diaz Backs ‘Natural Born Killer’
But Diaz had much more positive things to say about UFC welterweight legend Carlos Condit.
Condit, 36, defeated Matt Brown, 40, in the co-main event of the latest UFC fight night card at Yas Island, aka UFC Fight Island, in Abu Dhabi.
It was a back-and-forth brawl that saw Condit, aka the “Natural Born Killer,” win on the judges’ scorecards as well as inside the hearts and minds of most people who watched the fight. Diaz enjoyed the action-packed slugfest along with the rest of the world watching the fights on ABC.
Condit and brown some beast 👊🏼💯
Diaz also seemed to enjoy the rest of the card.
It’s some good fights today 💯👊🏼
Diaz Plotting Return in 2021
Diaz is expected to make his return to the UFC’s Octagon sometime during 2021.
The popular American superstar hasn’t competed since his controversial stoppage loss to Jorge Masvidal at UFC 244 in November 2019.
Diaz wanted to run that fight back after cuts around his eye led to his TKO loss, but he wasn’t given that chance.
Still, Diaz remains one of the most popular fighters in the sport, and his move down to the action-packed lightweight division should only help him grab massive fights against other top stars.
Most notably, Diaz could be on his way to completing an epic trilogy with UFC superstar Conor McGregor. Diaz split fights against McGregor back in 2016, and a third fight has been due for years.
That might finally happen this year.
Don’t Count on Seeing Diaz vs. Khabib
It doesn’t appear that Diaz will be sharing the cage with Nurmagomedov anytime soon, but Diaz released his inner thoughts and feelings about the undefeated lightweight champion via social media on Saturday anyway.
Maybe Diaz was just frustrated with how everything played out that day?
After all, White had teased all week he would be meeting with Nurmagomoedov to talk about the champ’s future plans.
The UFC boss announced he would be releasing that information to the world live on ABC at the beginning of the UFC Fight Night card on Saturday featuring Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar.
Met with UFC Lightweight Champion @TeamKhabib last night. Will announce his decision LIVE on ABC at 3pm ET #InAbuDhabi @visitabudhabi
But White’s big announcement was hardly new information at all.
Khabib Nurmagomedov told Dana White yesterday, per White: I’m going to watch the two lightweight fights at 257. If these guys do something spectacular and make me want to come back and fight I’ll fight.
In fact, White’s announcement seemed more like a clever push for his next pay-per-view event than an actual decision of any kind.
To recap, bluntly: no decision.
Khabib is still not back.
He hasn’t vacated the title.
McGregor-Poirier isn’t for a belt.
Neither is the co-main.
He will watch 257 and then decide if anyone enticed him enough to return, per White.
So Diaz might have just been reacting to the big letdown that the whole UFC community had just all experienced together that day.
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Nate Diaz: UFC Champ ‘Is a P**** for Real’