"Stop signing these long-a** contracts" - Former fighter uses Nate Diaz's example to warn fighters of drawn-out deals

Nate Diaz recently went on The MMA Hour and said he was being held hostage by the UFC, who refused to give him the final fight on his contract. The interview laid bare a lot of the issues Diaz has been having with the UFC over the years, and why the Stockton star is looking to leave the promotion as soon as possible.

One person with a lot of first hand knowledge of how the UFC works is Josh Thomson, who had two stints with the promotion over the years. During a new episode of Weighing In, Thomson said:

"[Diaz] said he's been trying to get out of his contract since the Benson Henderson fight. He signed an eight fight deal, regretfully. Stop. Fighters: stop signing these long a** contracts. They're not good. They're not good for you at all. Bank on yourself, believe in yourself."

Immediately after that, though, Thomson explained why fighters feel so much pressure to sign lengthy deals when they don't come with any sort of job security. He said:

"That [Nate Diaz vs. Benson Henderson] title fight probably only came about because - and don't get me wrong, he was on a winning streak - it only came about because he signed an eight fight deal. They were very reluctant to give me a title shot because I only signed a four fight deal. And when the Pettis thing came about and Pettis beat Benson, they probably had Pettis locked in to an eight fight contract."

Watch Josh Thomson and John McCarthy discuss Nate Diaz's contract situation below:

As many fighters have discovered over the years, the UFC's standard contract is extremely one-sided. They can cut you at any time. They can tack several months onto your contract terms if you refuse a fight. And while they're contractually obligated to offer all their fighters three bouts a year, they've found many ways to twist this obligation and keep fighters inactive for lengthy periods of time.

That's the situation Diaz has found himself in. He's been on the sidelines asking for a fight for over a year now.

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Nate Diaz says the UFC refuses to give him the final fight on his contract

Nate Diaz isn't one to give a lot of interviews, but he went on The MMA Hour recently to share his frustration with being unable to book the final fight on his UFC contract. According to Diaz, the UFC refused to sign anything unless he agreed to a contract extension. He said:

"Usually I'm handed fights, but since I fought Conor, nothing happens unless I make my own fights happen. And even now I'm trying to make things happen, they're not letting me. They're not letting me get in there and finish my contract."

Watch Nate Diaz discuss his contractual issues with the UFC below:

Diaz said he was upset with the promotion valuing him in private but devaluing him in public. He also accused them of only building other fighters off his name instead of featuring him as a star attraction.

While there's always two sides to every story, the fact remains that Diaz has been demanding a fight for a year now. Keeping a fighter inactive for that long, especially a star as big as Nate Diaz, is bordering on promoter malpractice.