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MMA

11th Oct 2018

Nate Diaz asks to be fired by UFC instead of Zubaira Tukhugov

Nate's gonna Nate

Darragh Murphy

The logic’s not quite watertight but, hey, Nate’s gonna Nate.

Nate Diaz has bizarrely asked to be let go by the UFC, claiming that it’s “more fair” than cutting Zubaira Tukhugov from the roster.

UFC President Dana White made it clear that he planned to fire Tukhugov, as well as any other UFC-contracted fighters who rushed the Octagon to attack Conor McGregor in the melee which took place after the main event of UFC 229.

Tukhugov’s dismissal has yet to be confirmed although his scheduled fight with McGregor’s teammate, Artem Lobov, has officially been pulled from the organisation’s Moncton card at the end of this month.

Nurmagomedov has insisted that he will refuse to fight for the UFC again if Tukhugov is cut, while Lobov is still keen on the settling the differences between the teams in the Octagon, a scenario which has been appreciated by light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.

The American Kickboxing Academy’s argument is that nobody lost their job as a result of the infamous Brooklyn bus attack in April so nobody should be cut for what took place at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena last weekend.

Diaz’s take is the strangest of all as the Stockton lightweight has requested to be released instead of Tukhugov.

Diaz, who has not fought since his razor-close defeat to McGregor in August 2016, was scheduled to fight Dustin Poirier next month in his comeback bout but Poirier suffered an injury which forced him off the card.

The wait to see Diaz back in the Octagon looks set to continue, with suggestions that the realisation of a trilogy with ‘The Notorious’ could well be up next for both men.