Nate Diaz talked his way into the biggest fight the UFC has to offer.
Now, another veteran lightweight fighter who’s starting to gain some recognition is trying to talk his way into a fight against Nate Diaz.
If you didn’t catch the first UFC card in almost a full month, you really missed out. Only a quarter of the fights on the UFC Rotterdam card went the distance and, as is often the case for these sleeper events, some promising stars really made some noise.
Mark Henry’s highly-touted Russian prospect Zabit Magomedsharipov called out Artem Lobov following his stunning promotional debut, and the man who claimed the other 50 G performance bonus was his compatriot Mairbek Taisumov, who deserved every cent of his pay cheque.
When Taisumov first let fly with that cinder-block he calls a right hand, his opponent Felipe Silva grinned wildly as it caught nothing but air.
The next time he threw it, there was no smile on the Brazilian’s face. His chin was caught flush by the two-knuckle death-strike and a few seconds later, he was waking up on the mat trying to figure out what had just happened.
We hadn’t heard UFC commentator Dan Hardy react this loudly to a finish in a long time.
BA-BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!
Just like that, @Taisumov155 FLOORS Silva in the first round!! #UFCRotterdam
WOW!!! pic.twitter.com/xLUqX6kdkU
— UFC (@ufc) September 2, 2017
The win marked Taisumov’s fifth on the bounce, all of which came inside the UFC’s Octagon via knockout or TKO. He’s 6-1 in the UFC, with his only loss coming by way of decision to Michel Prazeres in 2014.
After landing that coup de grace, he went straight over to the commentary booth and let them know that he wanted a top 10 fighter next. When Hardy handed him the mic, he let the world know, “I’m not here to talk, I’m here to smash – to smash anyone who steps into the Octagon with me.
“Michael Chiesa, he say if I beat someone else he wants to fight me, but since I finish three guys in a row, he doesn’t answer anymore. Anthony Pettis, he says I’m not famous enough to fight me. [Nate] Diaz says he’s the best, Nate Diaz is the best; he says if UFC pays him $20 million he’s going to fight me in my home country, but I think he smoke too much.”
With Diaz strongly linked with an end of year PPV smasher against Conor McGregor, he is unlikely to take the risk of fighting an unranked powerhouse like Taisumov. However, the Russian may well get his wish of a top-ranked opponent after that stunning showing.
