Diaz Claims UFC Offered More for McGregor Trilogy
Nate Diaz has stated he wasn’t interested in a UFC return to face Conor McGregor in his first fight in five years. Diaz claims the UFC offered him more money for a trilogy fight against McGregor, but he turned it down. He said he wasn’t interested in facing McGregor on his “last dying f*cking leg” after McGregor’s five-year absence.
Instead of returning to the UFC, Diaz took a fight against Mike Perry. The fight is scheduled for May 16 on the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano card airing on Netflix.
Dana White’s Version of Events
UFC CEO Dana White said the promotion was in talks to bring Diaz back. White believes Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions made Diaz “an offer he couldn’t refuse.”
Matt Brown Doubts Diaz’s Claims
Retired UFC welterweight Matt Brown doesn’t believe Diaz’s claim that he turned down more money to avoid fighting McGregor. Brown stated that Diaz has been one of the smartest fighters when it comes to maximizing his value.
“Money talks,” Brown said on The Fighter vs. The Writer. He believes Diaz is making more money with the Netflix fight than he would with the UFC. Brown leans towards believing Dana White on this matter.
Brown suggests there might be something behind the scenes with the contract structure that isn’t public knowledge. He said, “I don’t believe it for a second that he’s not making more money with this Netflix deal, however that plays out, his bank account ends up with more money from this fight than it does in the UFC or he doesn’t take the fight.” Brown added that Diaz is going to pick the highest bidder, as he understands this is prize fighting.
Diaz Focused on Competition
Diaz said he was only interested in facing the best, and Perry qualified. Perry has been active in bare-knuckle fighting in BKFC.
On the MMA side, Perry left the UFC on a 1-4 skid before becoming a superstar in BKFC. McGregor actually fought in MMA more recently than Perry. Perry has also taken a boxing match against Jake Paul.
Brown agrees that Perry is a tougher fight than facing McGregor. He argues that every fighter should be seeking the biggest pay regardless of the opposition.
“Nate’s a hittable guy. I don’t think that’s an insult to him. I think he knows that himself. But he gets hit in fig