Not much has gone right for Nate Diaz this week before his return to the Octagon later tonight (Saturday, September 10, 2022) at UFC 279 live on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from the inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and that includes being required to wear The Rock’s official UFC sponsorship shoe.
Diaz, who was originally scheduled to fight Khamzat Chimaev in the main event, will now face Tony Ferguson in a fan-favorite match after “Borz” lost weight on Friday. The Stockton native didn’t miss a beat despite the last second change and is more excited to fight ‘El Cucuy’ than he has ever been to challenge Khamzat. After all, the UFC pushed the Chimaev match on Diaz as the 37-year-old veteran battles out his current contract later tonight at UFC 279.
In addition to Friday’s main card transformation, Diaz was also forced to wear the UFC’s current sponsorship shoe, which is Dwayne Johnson’s Project Rock shoe in partnership with Under Armour. Diaz criticized The Rock’s shoe during an interview with UFC’s Megan Olivi, but the entire segment did not air. We wonder why.
“These shoes suck,” Diaz said at the end of her interview. “Look at these shoes, they made me put this shit on.
“Fk those shoes!”
Maybe Diaz is still mad at The Rock for wrapping the BMF belt around Jorge Masvidal’s waist at UFC 244. Maybe Diaz is so far removed from the UFC machine that he’ll try to win the promotion he can get. Maybe he just doesn’t like Project Rock shoes.
Either way, it’s par for the course with Diaz. He has always marched to the beat of his own drum and is sure to be holding no punches as he approaches what many expect will be his final trip to the Octagon.
MMAmania.com will provide live, round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 279 fight card, starting with the first UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET plus remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET by clicking HERE. This is followed by the main PPV card start time of 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV with live results and play-by-play action HERE.
For the latest and greatest UFC 279 news and notes, be sure to check out our comprehensive event archive here. For the full UFC 279 fight card and PPV lineup, click here.
