Nate Diaz has never been a fan of the Russian MMA icon
Diaz had little time for Khabib’s Hall of Fame induction. © Hans Gutknecht / Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images
Nate Diaz has slammed Russian UFC icon Khabib Nurmagomedov’s legendary career and his path into the Hall of Fame.
The Russian lightweight legend retired at 29-0 in October of 2020 after beating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in Abu Dhabi.
This came as part of a promise to his mother not to continue fighting after his father Abdulmanap passed away from Covid complications in the same year, and Nurmagomedov has since gone into coaching to oversee the path of prospects such as Islam Makhachev.
Appearing as though he will never lace up gloves again, Nurmagomedov was introduced into the UFC Hall of Fame with close friend and former American Kickboxing Academy partner Daniel Cormier at the turn of July, but the gesture is something that Diaz evidently doesn’t agree with.
“Khabib’s a f**king little b**ch too,” Diaz began on the Dagestani grappler in a rant to the MMA Hour.
“Who did he beat for the title? He got Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. They’ve both been finished off over and over the same way that he beat them. You ain’t no good,” Diaz menaced.
.@NateDiaz209 calls Khabib a "f****** little b****" 😳 #TheMMAHour"You were a scared fighter, scared of fighting the whole time, and now you’re in the [UFC] Hall of Fame?”▶️ https://t.co/MfOpg76KYupic.twitter.com/1Mtlo0dMpE
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) July 12, 2022
“You were a scared fighter, scared of fighting the whole time, and now you’re in the Hall of Fame.
“I was here before the Hall of Fame even showed up actually. Now you’re a Hall of Famer.
“Whatever. I don’t even want nothing to do with the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is a joke too,” he added.
This isn’t Diaz’s first run-in with Nurmagomedov.
Their maiden encounter came at the World Series of Fighting, which is now known as the Professional Fighters League, in 2015 when Diaz claimed that he slapped Nurmagomedov in the face for trying to make fun of him with “12 Russian dudes” when taking a group picture.
It has also been said that a mass brawl broke out at the event which then resumed after in a hotel.
“I’m not into this bully s***, he’s [Khabib] into bullying and stuff, that’s his thing,” Diaz said when recalling the altercation.
“I was outside furious,” Diaz added. “So I waited for him to come out there and I went to get him again and he ran off.
🔥👀🥊👊 Nate Diaz & Khabib got into an exchange of words at UFC 239 (via mattwreford95/IG) pic.twitter.com/prkNOKIT0P
— Fanatics View (@fanaticsview) July 7, 2019
“I shouldn’t have done that. It was reckless, it was stupid. I was mad, but he was picking on me. So now he’s trying to act like ‘Mr Make It Right’. ‘I’m Mr Good, this guy’s a piece of s***, I don’t need this trash talk’,” Diaz further claimed.
At UFC 239 in July 2019, the two men almost came to blows once more as explained by president Dana White.
“Those two were within two rows of each other and then they started to get into a fight and we broke it up and we got it handled,” White told BT Sport.
Recently giving one of the Nelk Boys, Shawny Mack, the “Stockton Slap” at UFC 276 almost a fortnight ago, in what some believe was a response to comments made about Diaz’s training partner Nick Maximov, Diaz is currently without an opponent lined up and is campaigning to be released from his contract.
