Nate Diaz is never one to pull punches — in or out of the cage — and his latest target is none other than UFC’s new middleweight king, Khamzat Chimaev.
After watching Chimaev dominate Dricus Du Plessis to capture the title at UFC 319 on August 15, Diaz didn’t hold back. In a fiery conversation with content creator Sneako, the Stockton slugger torched Chimaev’s performance and style, calling it flat-out “boring.”
“I don’t like that kind of fighting,” Diaz said. “It’s boring to me.”
That’s just the start.
Diaz, who was once scheduled to face Chimaev back in 2022 before the Chechen-born fighter badly missed weight at UFC 279, says what fans see as dominance, he sees as fear.
“He’s supposed to be the big scary guy, right?” Diaz said. “And remember when he had [Du Plessis] in side control and he’s holding him? Dominating him, right? And then he lets go and hits him a little bit, little soft punches and sh*t.”
Diaz didn’t mince words, blasting Chimaev for what he called a “scared style.”
“That type of fighter is a scared fighter. He’s scared for his life… He’s afraid that if he lets go to hit him hard that motherfer might get up and get the f away from him,” Diaz continued. “So that’s a scared style to me. He comes off as this big intimidating guy, but it’s a big old scared f***ing child.”
That last jab echoed a tweet Diaz sent shortly after UFC 319, in which he said Chimaev isn’t a “real fighter” — and now, we know exactly why.
Nate Diaz GOES OFF on Khamzat Chimaev for being a “scared fighter” 😳 pic.twitter.com/VR5GIEKBdU
— Sneako Daily (@HALALK0) August 20, 2025
While Chimaev (9-0 UFC) remains unbeaten and has rolled through names like Gilbert Burns, Kamaru Usman, and Robert Whittaker, his grinding grappling-heavy approach clearly doesn’t impress the all-action Diaz, who favors toe-to-toe wars over clinch-heavy control.
Can’t Fight
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) August 17, 2025
Diaz, who recently returned to the win column in boxing with a decision victory over Jorge Masvidal in July 2024, shows no signs of toning down his signature swagger — or his criticism of today’s UFC elite.
Chimaev, meanwhile, is expected to defend his title later this year against whoever emerges from a crowded middleweight contender pool, with fights scheduled between Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho and Anthony Hernandez vs. Reinier de Ridder in September and October.
