Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father takes shot at Nate Diaz after UFC 239 skirmish

By Tom Taylor - July 11, 2019

Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov crossed paths at UFC 239, and in a twist that should surprise absolutely nobody, the two long-time rivals promptly had to be separated.

Nate Diaz

UFC President Dana White revealed at the card’s post-fight press conference that the pair had been “talking s**t to each other,” at which point security intervened.

“They got into a fight, Khabib and Diaz, talking s**t to each other back and forth,” the UFC boss said. “Everybody broke it up, we moved Diaz and then Diaz left after the [Gilbert] Melendez fight.

“Everybody got it [contained] before it became anything other than verbal.”

In the wake of this UFC 239 run in, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father Abdulmanap — who is closely involved in his son’s career — has taken a shot at Nate Diaz. He believes that Nate Diaz is trying to inject himself in the lightweight contendership situation without actually earning his place there.

“This guy is trying to get what he deserves without standing in line,” Abdulmanap wrote on Instagram (h/t Express). “How many [times] we asked him and [Anthony] Pettis for the fight? it was difficult to reach agreement with them. But the UFC can give that chance to this guy.”

Khabib Nurmagomedov is the reigning UFC lightweight champion. He’s scheduled to defend his title against interim champion Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 242 in September.

Nate Diaz, on the other hand, will make his long awaited return to the Octagon at UFC 241 in August, where he’ll take on former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. Though both he and Pettis have had great success in the lightweight division, this fight will occur in the welterweight division.

Do you think we’ll ever see Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov in the cage together? Join the conversation in the comments section.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 7/11/2019.


Topics:

Khabib Nurmagomedov Nate Diaz UFC