Daniel Cormier gives take on Khamzat Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz: “I do believe it’s a mismatch”

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier doesn’t believe the upcoming Khamzat Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz booking is very competitive.

The two welterweight stars are set to collide in the main event of UFC 279 in September. The booking came after months of rumors that the two would faceoff. It also came after Diaz begged to fight out his UFC contract for over a year.

The fight’s announcement was almost universally blasted by fans and pundits alike. Commentators such as Dan Hardy likened the bout to execution, and oddsmakers agreed. Currently, ‘Borz’ is an astronomical favorite over the Stockton-native.

Earlier this week, UFC president Dana White defended the matchup, saying it’s a good fight. However, it seems that commentator Daniel Cormier would disagree with that assessment. The UFC Hall of Famer discussed the booking on the DC & RC podcast.

In a discussion with co-host Ryan Clark, ‘DC’ questioned the matchup. While Cormier praised Diaz’s toughness, he also stated the fight is a mismatch, and not very competitive at this stage of their respective careers.

“You know what RC, I don’t believe that Nate will go down quietly. I just think that at this point in their careers, Nate is on a different path than Khamzat Chimaev. Nate will tell you there’s still championship aspirations because he’s a fighter and is as tough as they come. But when you look at what he’s done recently, you can’t just say Nate Diaz is in title contention. Popularity-wise, sure. But in terms of what he’s put on paper in regard to his fighting, you can’t say that.”

Daniel Cormier continued, “Khamzat is every bit of what you would expect a soon-to-be title challenger to be. If he gets past Nate Diaz, which will be his biggest win to date, even though the Gilbert Burns fight was fun, it will not be as valuable as a win over Nathan Diaz… I just think these guys are in different points of their careers right now, and I do believe it’s a mismatch.”

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