The build-up to UFC 328 was presented as one of the most volatile title fights in recent memory.
Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev were kept in separate hotels, with extra security involved after months of insults and threats.
Chimaev also kicked Strickland during a press conference face-off, forcing the UFC to scrap their final staredown.
Yet once they were inside the cage, the hostility softened quickly, with glove touches, smiles and a respectful post-fight exchange after Strickland’s title win, which caught many fans off guard.
Nate Diaz blasts Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev’s behaviour
Nate Diaz did not like what he saw from Strickland and Chimaev, and his criticism matched the blunt reputation that has made him one of MMA’s most recognisable figures.
Speaking in a Most Valuable Promotions video with Ariel Helwani and Mike Perry, Diaz accused both fighters of selling something that did not feel real.
“They were faking the funk. They were f——— acting like crazy and talking all this s— to each other, and hugging and f——— throwing love the whole fight like some b— fake f——— puppets. I’m f——— cool off that s—,” he began by saying.
Diaz then drew a line between that and his own approach ahead of Perry, his opponent on MVP’s Netflix card this weekend.
“We’re not friends or anything like that, but I’m not gonna play around and make no fake artificial beef with you.”
He later concluded: “I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I was sitting there b——— everybody.”