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Nate Diaz has been stuck on the sidelines for over a year, waiting for the UFC to offer him the final fight on his contract. In a new interview with Ariel Helwani, the younger Diaz brother gave his side on why things are taking so long.
Speaking on a special edition of The MMA Hour, Diaz said:
"I'm trying to get the show on the road but they don't want me out of contract and they're keeping me in there and they're holding me hostage, and I want out. That's my main objective here."
"They're trying to keep me in contract. And I've been doing everything I can, I've never asked for so many fights in my life. 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."
Asked if the UFC had offered him a new contract, Diaz said they were offering him a lot more money, but he wasn't interested.
"For the last five six seven months, however long, when I ask for a fight, they offer me more money, they offer me more money, and they offer me more money. I'm at a point in my career and my life where I don't want any more money. I just want to depart. I'm over the whole UFC roster, right now."
Diaz claimed the UFC was offering him more money than anyone in the promotion other than Conor McGregor to re-sign. However, he was unhappy with how the promotion "devalued" him over the years and kept trying to build other fighters off his name.
Just leaving him sitting on the sidelines for a year shows how much Diaz is really valued by UFC executives. He said:
"The biggest thing that could happen to me is to depart. That's the biggest thing in my life that I can do right now, and that's all I want to do."
Watch Nate Diaz discuss his desire to leavethe UFC below:
Dana White devalued Nate Diaz in a recent interview
In a recent example of Nate Diaz getting mistreated by the UFC, Dana White recently suggested Diaz was over the hill despite only losing to top contenders in the promotion. He told The Mac Life:
"We’re trying not to s*** on anybody and disrespect anybody, but it’s not like we’re talking about Kamaru Usman here. We’re talking about Nate Diaz. Nate’s won one fight in five years, so we’re trying to figure this thing out with him. He probably should go on and fight Jake Paul. That’s a fight that makes sense.”
Over the past five years, Diaz holds wins over Conor McGregor and Anthony Pettis. His losses are to McGregor (in a razor-thin majority decision), Jorge Masvidal, and Leon Edwards.
