Nate Diaz has delivered a perfect finale after defeating Tony Ferguson by submission with a guillotine choke in the fourth round in their welterweight bout at UFC 279 on Saturday.
Diaz, 37, closed out his UFC contract with Ferguson tapping out at the 2:52 mark of the fourth round in an entertaining and also bizarre fight in Las Vegas.
During the third round, Diaz appeared unwilling to engage and turned his back to his opponent, shaking his head while walking around the cage.
That was after a tight first two rounds, before Ferguson had beaten up Diaz's leg by kicks, but the Californian would resume hostilities, landing several blows in the lead-up to the decisive fourth round.
Diaz had trapped Ferguson against the fence, with the latter escaping. But Diaz dropped Ferguson to the canvas when he came forward next, securing the submission.
The win ends Diaz's association with the UFC for now at 22-13, having been in the promotion since 2007.
"At the end of the day I love the UFC," he said inside the octagon after the bout. "I feel like I've had the longest career in the UFC, and I've had the most successful one."
There has been speculation about Diaz's next move, with a potential trilogy fight with Conor McGregor. Diaz offered an insight into his plans, while taking a pot shot at McGregor.
"I want to get out of the UFC for a minute and show al these UFC fighters how to take over and own up another sport how you're supposed to do it because Conor McGregor didn’t know how to do it," he said. "None of these other fighters know how to do it.
"I'm going to go out there and take over another profession and become the best at that. Show everybody I'm the best at that. Then I'm going to be back here to get another UFC title."
Meanwhile, Diaz's original opponent Khamzat Chimaev defeated Kevin Holland by submission in the first round with a d'Arce choke.
Chimaev forced a late shuffling of the cards after missing weight by 7.5 pounds, but made light work of Holland who submitted at 2:13 in the opening round.
Daniel Rodriguez defeated Li Jingliang by split decision while Irene Aldana landed an upkick from her back to beat Macy Chiasson by TKO.
Shields welcomes Marshall's MMA move as good for women's sport
Claressa Shields believes Savannah Marshall's move into mixed martial arts is good for women's sport and wishes her rival well, despite the "love-hate" relationship between the duo.
Unified middleweight champion and two-time Olympic gold medallist Shields, one of the biggest names in women's boxing, made her MMA debut in 2021 after signing with the Professional Fighters League (PFL), where she has a 1-1 record.
British boxer Marshall, Shields' long-term rival who beat the American as an amateur in 2012 before losing by unanimous decision when they met last year, signed with the PFL last week.
Marshall then declared her intention to face Shields in her new discipline, saying: "It doesn't look like a rematch in the ring is coming off, so I've had to chase her into another sport."
There has been no love lost between the fighters in the past, with Shields calling Marshall "delusional" and "disrespectful" after the Brit called for a rematch earlier this year.
While Shields initially had misgivings over Marshall's MMA switch, she believes the move will benefit the sport and even claims to have offered her rival tips to aid her transition.
"Any time I fight Savannah Marshall is a good time for me," Shields told Stats Perform. "Whether it's in boxing for the rematch or in MMA. I mean, if she wanted to go the track and race, I am down for it!
"The satisfaction of beating her makes me very happy. I have a love-hate relationship with Savannah. I love that she's a competitor. I love that we had our experiences together.
"She keeps mentioning the amateur loss, but it was, what, 11 years ago? Other than that, I think it was very clever and very inspiring for her to come and sign with the PFL.
"When I heard about it, [I thought], 'man, she is just obsessed with me'. But [then] I asked her, 'why are you here?'
"She was like, 'I want to fight you in a cage, and I want to be bigger in boxing too. I want to build my brand'.
"Hearing her say those things… It's like, now you're on the same mental that I'm on, because I've been doing this and I've been saying this.
"We both agree that women's boxing is big but it's not as big as women's MMA and we get paid more in MMA, [with] equal TV time, equal fight time, equal promotion.
"There's just way more eyes on us and we can get the bang for our buck. So, the fact that she came over here, I thought it was a good move.
"We can still do our fight in boxing for the rematch, and we can still fight in the cage. When we're done, they're going to writing like documentaries and stuff about our beef!
"But I don't have beef with her right now. I will save that for when she's my opponent again. Right now, I just wish her well. I even gave her some tips. Boxing and MMA, they are like apples and oranges. I just gave her a few tips on what I think she should do."
Asked about the development of women's sport in recent years, Shields hailed the progress already made but called for more female representation across sport's governing bodies.
"Well women's sports right now are being viewed more than ever in today's time," She added. "I think we need the CEOs, the CFOs, the people in charge to just be equal and whatever you want to do, do it for the women. It's not that hard.
"But people saying, 'the women need to do this or do that'… We're already doing everything that we're doing. It is the same as the men.
"It's really about the people in charge making those financial decisions with their budgets and just being fair. We are working our way up there.
"I'm a fan of the Olympics because I went and I just liked to see how women are represented on track and field, represented in boxing, represented in MMA, represented in soccer.
"We are putting in our time, and Coco Gauff just won the [Cincinnati Open] trophy in tennis. Women's sports right now are really on an up and up and it's going to get better."
Ngannou 'crazy' for taking Fury bout in boxing switch, says Shields
Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou is "crazy" for agreeing to switch to boxing for October's bout with Tyson Fury, according to unified middleweight champion Claressa Shields.
Ngannou, who relinquished his UFC Heavyweight title as part of his move to the Professional Fighters League (PFL) earlier this year, will make his professional boxing debut against the WBC Heavyweight champion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 28.
Fury's decision to face the unranked Ngannou has been criticised by many boxing fans after the Gypsy King failed to reach an agreement on a unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk earlier this year.
Shields made the opposite switch from boxing to mixed martial arts in 2021 and has a 1-1 PFL record, meaning she is well-versed in the differences between the disciplines.
Ngannou will be a huge underdog when he steps into the ring for the first time, and while Shields is excited to see him in such a high-profile fight, she knows he is at a major disadvantage.
"It's going to be very interesting fight," Shields told Stats Perform. "Francis left UFC because of low pay. He wasn't being paid properly as a champion, which I felt terrible for – he had a couple of injuries and everything.
"I think him coming to the PFL, they can offer him a nice cheque and really honour that he was a UFC champion and that he's going to work hard to be PFL champion.
"I'm happy that Francis is getting his just [reward], fighting against Tyson Fury in boxing. I think he's just so crazy.
"All the girls in MMA, I think, are very, very smart. If they were to come to box me inside the ring, I would destroy them, truth be told."
Ngannou is, however, known for his punching power and is being trained for the bout by Mike Tyson, which Shields hopes may help the Cameroon-born fighter keep things interesting.
"Francis has great hands, but in boxing and in MMA, distancing and everything is completely different," she added.
"I just feel like I just want to see it. I'm excited about it, and Francis is training with Mike Tyson, so we may see some things we weren't expecting to see.
"I just know that Tyson Fury is a really great boxer. He's strong and I believe Tyson's going to win the fight, but I can't wait to see what Francis does to move from the cage."
Fury has previously discussed the idea of competing in MMA, but Shields is sceptical, adding: "I heard Tyson talking about it, but I don't think he would get inside the cage.
"Inside the cage, under MMA rules, he gets kicked, [opponents] take you down to the ground and knee you and things like that. I just don't see Fury doing it. But he's crazy, so you never know."
Elsewhere, Anthony Joshua says "positive" talks have taken place over a heavyweight meeting with Deontay Wilder following the Brit's one-punch knockout of Robert Helenius earlier this month.
While Shields is fond of both fighters, she feels compelled to back fellow American Wilder if the bout is made.
"I am a fan of both," she said. "Deontay Wilder's like a big brother to me and Anthony Joshua's the heavyweight I have a crush on because he is so gorgeous!
"But it has to be the American Deontay. Even though I think Joshua has better skill, I think Deontay Wilder has just got dynamite in both hands and we've seen Joshua get knocked out before.
"I know I'm going to be cheering for Deontay Wilder, he's like my brother."
Anthony Joshua admires Tyson Fury self-will but critical of fight with MMA star
Anthony Joshua has some admiration for Tyson Fury’s uncompromising attitude but believes his British rival should be fighting professional boxers and not mixed martial artists.
Fury argued he was unable to arrange a showdown with Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk, which led the WBC heavyweight champion agreeing to box MMA star Francis Ngannou on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
While Fury’s handlers have denied the crossover bout is an exhibition, the 34-year-old will not be defending his world title against the former UFC heavyweight champion, who has never boxed professionally before.
Fury has been accused of holding up the division and Joshua, who has a rematch against Dillian Whyte on August 12 at London’s O2 Arena, admitted he has some sympathy with boxers having to stand by for a title shot.
“I’m not frustrated by that because I’ve been champion and I know my process and I’m on this rebuilding phase but I can understand for people waiting in line it must be massively frustrating,” Joshua said.
“To become champion for some people is the be all and end all. That’s all they want to do and then they can pack up. I feel sorry for the people who want to know where they are going with their career.
“But Fury has to do what Fury has to do for him. I admire the guy for his confidence to do what’s right for him – he has an ‘eff it’ mentality. I think we all need a bit of that in today’s society.
“If you want to hold him accountable then yes he should be fighting active fighters and he should wait until the end of his career, when he’s not champion anymore, to compete with MMA fighters.”
Negotiations for an undisputed fight between Fury and WBA, IBF and WBO champion Usyk broke down earlier this year, with the British fighter attracting the most criticism which intensified after the Ngannou announcement.
The WBC has given Fury special dispensation to take on his Cameroonian-French opponent, in a fight which is expected to be highly lucrative for both combatants, as there is no mandatory challenger in place.
Joshua ruefully reflected that he would still be a world champion now had he ignored his mandatory and vacated one of the crowns now held by Usyk, who outpointed the Briton twice.
“When all is said and done it will just be part of (Fury’s) legacy and I think we will all forget about it sooner or later,” Joshua added.
“Usyk was my mandatory and I ended up losing to him. I would have loved to have gone to Saudi to compete with someone else and make a s*** load of money and swerve my mandatory.
“I would still be champion if I could do that but I didn’t get that opportunity and I had to take it on the chin. But life isn’t always fair.”
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