Kamaru Usman doesn’t suppose Nate Diaz has any enterprise competing for UFC title.
Although which will appear apparent to most combat followers, the chance was raised by Diaz himself after he defeated Jorge Masvidal in a boxing match in Anaheim, Calif., this previous Saturday. Diaz referred to as for a rematch with both Jake Paul or UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, the latter of which is a suggestion Usman balks at.
On his Pound 4 Pound podcast, Usman argued that Diaz belongs nowhere close to a legit title shot at this stage of his profession.
“Nate Diaz is on utterly tail finish of his profession,” Usman stated. “Sure, in fact, he’s made an important identify for himself, huge shout-out to Nate Diaz for nonetheless having that notoriety to have the ability to go on the market and nonetheless get paychecks like this, as a result of he’s getting all these good fights on the surface.
“However come on, to say Nate Diaz goes to come back again in and stroll into preventing world-class blended martial arts fighters proper now within the UFC, come on. That’s absurd. That’s loopy.”
Usman’s co-host Henry Cejudo requested him if he believes Diaz is now not the contender he as soon as was, and Usman didn’t equivocate along with his reply.
“No,” Usman stated. “He was. And don’t get me flawed, shout-out to Nate Diaz, Nate Diaz can nonetheless combat. However he’s not a world-class fighter. Are you loopy? Are you loopy? Throw Nate Diaz in there with Shavkat Rakhmonov. Throw Nate Diaz in there with myself. Throw Nate Diaz in there with [Jack Della Maddalena]. Throw Nate Diaz in there with Justin Gaethje. Come on.”
Cejudo argued that Diaz’s identify worth and historical past with Edwards would not less than have the matchmakers contemplating the chance. Diaz fought Edwards at UFC 263 in June 2021, and although Edwards dominated the vast majority of the bout, a late strike from Edwards had the longer term champion visibly wobbled. It’s a second that has turn out to be an indelible a part of Diaz lore.
Nonetheless, Usman isn’t satisfied that the oft-repeated spotlight ought to matter when appraising a possible matchup.
“Nate landed a sneaky punch after Leon beat the canine crap out of him for 4 and a half rounds,” Usman stated. “On the finish of the day, he landed it, it was an unbelievable punch, however that doesn’t warrant him — due to that, he had one second within the combat, we’re going to offer him a title shot simply because? Get severe.”
Usman made certain to reward Diaz for his sturdiness, longevity, and drawing energy, however stopped wanting agreeing with the notion that Diaz ought to merely skip any of the contender strains within the UFC.
If Diaz continues to be on the lookout for huge names to combat, Usman likes the concept of Diaz following up on Paul’s earlier big-money provide to combat him inside PFL, or a Conor McGregor trilogy bout that has loomed for years since their memorable two-fight sequence in 2016.
“Nate Diaz, PFL and Jake Paul will give you $15 million to enter MMA and combat him in MMA. I’m taking that, Nate Diaz,” Usman stated. “That, I believe he truly wins that combat like that. Shout-out to Nate Diaz, I believe he truly wins a combat like that.”
“If Nate Diaz decides, hey, I don’t need to simply go take $15 million — if that’s the quantity — to combat Jake Paul in blended martial arts, the Conor McGregor combat’s nonetheless there,” Usman added. “That’s an enormous one.”
