When UFC fighters overstay their welcome, they tend to become cannon fodder for the next generation of contenders.
In recent years, the UFC has seen a surge of new stars. Paddy Pimblett, Khamzat Chimaev, Ilia Topuria, and Shavkat Rakhmonov. But for the promotion to make room at the top for these newer names, they often have to go through aging contenders and former champions.
It’s not always pretty, but according to former UFC star Dan Hardy, that’s just the nature of the business.
“That’s the nature of it, though, isn’t it? Unfortunately, that’s the nature of the MMA machine,” Hardy told Submission Radio. “I remember a while ago when we were talking about Nate Diaz and Khamzat [Chimaev] and a fight that just made everyone feel a little bit nauseous. But it’s the way it is. If you stick around long enough, you’re going to be the cannon fodder for the younger generations coming through.
“Sometimes people like to roll the dice. [Michael] Chandler sticking around and taking on Paddy [Pimblett] was a massive roll of the dice – not only because it could derail other opportunities like a [Conor] McGregor fight that could be bigger, but physical damage. You don’t know what’s going to happen in any one of these fights. It could be your last because you get badly injured.
“There’ve been a lot of fighters over the years – you remember when Frank Mir broke his femur? I know that was obviously outside of MMA, but he was the king of the heavyweight division when that happened, and he never got back to that kind of glory.”
Chimaev vs. Diaz is One UFC Fights Fans Are Glad It Didn’t Happen
Hardy’s initial example — Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev — is a fight that fortunately never came to fruition. Scheduled to headline UFC 279 in September 2022, the fight was scrapped mere hours before Fight Night after Chimaev stepped on the scale massively overweight for the maligned welterweight clash.
The UFC was forced to flip-flop the top of the card, matching Diaz with Tony Ferguson and pairing Chimaev with Kevin Holland, who was originally expected to fight Daniel Rodriguez earlier in the evening.
Chimaev was a massive -1250 favorite, and considering how he manhandled Holland on short notice, there’s little doubt that he would have done the same to Diaz.
