Exclusive | Nick Maximov talks Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev UFC 279 chaos: “Kind of lame that Dana did that”
Nick Maximov was backstage at the UFC 279 press conference when a brawl broke out. Maximov is a training partner of Nick and Nate Diaz and was with Nate at this time. Kevin Holland and Khamzat Chimaev got into a physical confrontation which spread to the other groups waiting backstage. It got severe enough that due to security concerns, the press conference was forced to be canceled by UFC President Dana White.
UFC Middleweight Nick Maximov recently sat down with Alex Behunin of LowKickMMA and explained that the whole thing got blow way out of proportion. In a recent interview, he explained:
“I thought it was just blown out of proportion. It was like not even nothing really crazy happened. It was kind of, I think, they were just trying to make a scene out of it when it wasn’t a scene, you know. It was whatever. It was kind of lame that Dana did that.”
Nick Maximov on Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev’s weight issues
Khamzat Chimaev was originally booked to face Nate Diaz in a five-round welterweight headlining bout at UFC 279. Due to a massive weight miss, the Russian athlete was not allowed to face Diaz. A shuffle happened so Chimaev fought Kevin Holland, while Diaz fought Tony Ferguson. The Stockton-born Diaz was able to defeat the former Interim UFC champion Ferguson via fourth-round submission in what is likely to be his final fight in the UFC.
Next to Diaz throughout the entire affair was his training partner Nick Maximov. The 24-year-old US-born fighter explained his perspective of the UFC 279 chaos. He says he was impressed with Nate keeping cool and adjusting to a new opponent. Speaking to LowKickMMA, Maximov said:
“I don’t think you can even fight when you’re that far off weight. It’s like, I thought the show was over with… But it worked out for him. So it’s cool they gotta fight so quick. Yeah I mean it wouldn’t happen to anyone else but Nate, you know what I’m saying. But he’s the man he can take all the punches.”
Upcoming on October 15 on UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Araujo, Nick Maximov (8-1-0) will take on the Australian Jacob Malkoun (6-2-0) in a middleweight showdown. To hear the American athlete discuss his upcoming fight and more, check out the interview below.
