Nate Diaz continues to put Khamzat Chimaev on blast following UFC 319.
Chimaev captured the UFC Middleweight Championship thanks to a blowout decision victory over Dricus du Plessis in Chicago. The bout wasn’t competitive, as du Plessis had no answer for the grappling of “Borz.” While there is no doubting that Chimaev put on a masterclass in the grappling department, some fans and even experts believe the lack of action left a lot to be desired.
Diaz was quick to share his thoughts on social media by expressing his belief that Chimaev “can’t fight.” The Stockton legend added context to his post during a live stream with Sneako.
Nate Diaz says Khamzat Chimaev is a ‘scared fighter’ 😬
“He comes off as this big, intimidating guy but he’s a big scared f***ing child.”
🎥 @sneako
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 20, 2025
“I don’t like that kind of fighting,” Diaz said. “It’s boring to me. He’s supposed to be a big, scary guy, right? And then do you remember when he had him in side control and he’s holding him? Dominating him, right? And then he’s like, ‘Let’s go,’ and he hits him a little bit. Real soft punches and [expletive]. That’s what people don’t understand about the style. That type of fighter is a scared fighter.
“He’s scared for his life. He’s that afraid that if he let’s go to hit him hard, that [expletive] might get up and get the [expletive] away from him. So, that’s a scared style to me. He comes off as this big, intimidating guy but he’s a big, old, scared [expletive] child. That’s why I tweeted about it. I said he’s not a fighter because you could tell by how scared he is holding him that tight.”
UFC CEO Dana White is already at work finding Chimaev’s first title challenger. He has booked a middleweight clash between Reinier de Ridder and Anthony Hernandez. While the winner of that fight could earn a championship opportunity, the winner of Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho is also very much in play.