Nate Diaz, Khamzat Chimaev Verbally Agree to Bout at UFC 279 on Sept. 10

After going public with his grievances against the Ultimate Fighting Championship, it appears that Nate Diaz will finally get chance to return to action in the Octagon.

UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell informed promotion broadcast partner ESPN on Tuesday that Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev have verbally agreed to meet at UFC 279 on Sept. 10. The event takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and Diaz vs. Chimaev is expected to serve as the card’s five-round main event. Meanwhile, a bantamweight championship clash between Aljamain Sterling and T.J. Dillashaw tat was initially targeted for UFC 279 is no longer in the works for the event, according to multiple reports.

During a recent appearance on “The MMA Hour,” Diaz claimed that the UFC was holding him “hostage” over the final fight on his contract. It is unclear at this time if the fight with Chimaev will fulfill the deal, or if he has agreed to some type of extension with the Las Vegas-based promotion. The Stockton, Calif., native last appeared at UFC 263 in June 2021, where he fell to Leon Edwards via unanimious decision in a five-round contest.

Diaz representative Zach Rosenfield confirmed the pairing with ESPN, adding: "This is a fight Nate has been asking for since the middle of April.”

Chimaev has emerged as one of the UFC’s hottest rising stars since his Octagon debut in July 2020. The Allstars Training Center export is 5-0 in the organization and is coming off his biggest win to date, a unanimous decision triumph over former welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns in a “Fight of the Year” contender at UFC 273.

“I am going to handle Nate Diaz’s funeral with the UFC,” Chimaev said in a statement issued to ESPN through his representatives.