Khamzat Chimaev tells Nate Diaz he's 'gonna get some smoke' after UFC 267

Khamzat Chimaev seriously wants to be the final opponent on Nate Diaz’s UFC contract.

Chimaev (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) made his highly anticipated return to the octagon Saturday at UFC 267 with a first-round submission of Li Jingliang (18-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. It was a flawless performance, and one that regained a lot of the 2020 hype Chimaev lost from his 13-month layoff and positioned him for a massive fight.

A name that has constantly come up in the aftermath of UFC 267 is Nate Diaz, who is on the final fight of his contract and might be set up for a difficult fight should he choose not to re-sign. That fight could be Chimaev, and he’s all for it.

“Hey, Diaz, let’s go, brother,” Chimaev told reporters post-fight at UFC 267 (via MMAFighting). “Let’s go. You gonna get some smoke, bro. Let’s see who is the real gangster.”

Whether Diaz (20-13 MMA, 15-11 UFC) is willing to accept a fight with Chimaev – or the UFC wants to book it – remains to be seen.

At this point, Chimaev is just happy to be back in the mix after a long layoff that consisted of a difficult bout with COVID-19.

Chimaev said he’s not keen to be inactive and wants to keep the ball rolling. He’s eager to “smash” whoever the UFC puts in front of him next.

“Fight, fight, fight – I love this sh*t, bro,” Chimaev said. “Make money, and it makes me happy to do this for you guys.”