UFC-ийн хоёр жингийн аварга асан Илиа Топуриагийн сүүлийн үеийн үзүүлбэр болон Жастин Гэтжид ялагдсан талаар Нэйт Диаз шүүмжлэлтэй байр суурь илэрхийллээ.
Скотт Кокерын “Ki MMA” байгууллагын нээлтийн үйл ажиллагаанд оролцсон Нэйт Диаз Илиа Топуриаг хурцаар шүүмжлэв. Тэрээр Топуриаг зургаадугаар сард “UFC White House” тэмцээний үеэр Жастин Гэтжид ялагдаж, ялагдашгүй цувралаа таслуулсны дараа “боксын тоорцог” шиг л харагдсан гэж тодорхойлжээ. Диаз өмнө нь өөрийг нь ийнхүү доромжилж байсан Топуриаг жинхэнэ өрсөлдөгчтэй тулгарсан үедээ сул дорой байдлаа харууллаа хэмээн онцолсон байна.
Топуриа нь Чарльз Оливейра, Макс Холлоуэй, Александр Волкановски зэрэг алдартай тулаанчдыг ялан, Конор МакГрегортой адилтгагдаж байсан түүхтэй. Гэсэн хэдий ч Диаз түүнийг Конор МакГрегорын замаар явж буйг тэмдэглээд, жинхэнэ өндөр түвшний тулаанчтай учрахад бодит байдал ил болдог гэв. Түүний үзэж буйгаар Топуриагийн өмнөх амжилтууд нь хангалттай сорилт биш байсан бололтой.
Өдгөө 41 настай Нэйт Диаз өнгөрсөн тавдугаар сард Майк Перритэй тулалдсанаас хойш октагонд гараагүй байгаа юм. Тэрээр ирэх 2027 онд “Ki MMA”-ийн хүрээнд рингэнд эргэн гарч, дор хаяж хоёр тулаан хийхээр төлөвлөж байгаагаа мэдэгдлээ. Диаз одоогийн тулаанчдаас онцгой сэтгэгдэл төрүүлэх хүн ховор байгаа ч шинэ он гарсаар идэвхтэй тулалдах хүсэлтэй байгаагаа илэрхийлэв.
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Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez at Ki MMA launch | Esther Lin/Lucas Noonan, Ki MMA
Nate Diaz was in attendance for the unveiling of Scott Coker’s Ki MMA venture, and he touched upon a number of topics including some pointed comments aimed at former UFC two-division champion Ilia Topuria.
“El Matador” is currently on the comeback trail after suffering a disappointing loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC White House this past June. Not only did Topuria drop the lightweight title to Gaethje, he also lost his undefeated record.
With the possibility of an immediate rematch looming, fans and media are split on whether Gaethje vs. Topuria 2 makes sense or if the champion deserves a fresh challenger. Either way, Diaz thinks Topuria was exposed to some degree in defeat.
“I don’t really give a f*ck about what they do, but Ilia is lame as f*ck,” Diaz said. “He’s f*cking lame. He’s a punching bag. He called me a punching bag, he’s a f*cking punching bag. He got his ass whooped.”
Prior to the Gaethje fight, Topuria was on a historic run, capturing UFC titles at 155 and 145 pounds, and scoring consecutive knockout wins over future Hall of Famers Charles Oliveira, Max Holloway, and Alexander Volkanovski. He was frequently compared to MMA superstar Conor McGregor, who won championships in those same divisions.
Diaz famously handed McGregor his first UFC loss in 2016, and he sees Topuria as having had a similar career arc so far.
“They made a big deal out of him just like they did off Conor when he started coming,” Diaz said. “You get a little early pump-up before you’ve been in a real fight, that’s what happened to him. He got into a real fight with Justin Gaethje, and now look at you.”
Diaz is coming off of his first MMA fight in four years, having lost to Mike Perry at the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano event this past May. The 41-year-old former UFC star has dabbled in boxing as well, and looks to resume fighting someplace, somewhere in 2027.
“A hundred percent,” Diaz said when asked if he will fight for Ki MMA. “Especially if there’s a ring involved. I’m going to be fighting everywhere for a cool minute.”
“I’m trying to come up and see, no one’s that impressive right now,” he added. “For the moment, there’s impressive people out there for sure, but none’s that impressive at the moment. I’m going to be out until, I’m going to say, January, minimum. Before halfway through the year I would like to fight next year, but I’m trying to get active, at least two fights next year, but I’m trying to get some shit done. I’m trying to whip some motherf*cking ass.”
