Nate Diaz remains one of the biggest names in combat sports so when he was pursuing his next fight, there were obviously plenty of interested parties including his old employers at the UFC.
Rumors swirled for months that Diaz was potentially in line for a trilogy against Conor McGregor after they engaged in two of the biggest fights in UFC history but ultimately the matchup didn’t come together. Diaz later explained that he passed on a lucrative offer from the UFC to instead face Mike Perry on the upcoming Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano card because he wasn’t interested in being part of McGregor’s “comeback motherf*cking story” as he competes for the first time in five years and coming off a broken leg.
In the end, Diaz took a healthy paycheck to face Perry and he’s definitely satisfied with that decision.
“I was just weighing out my options and I thought it was the best option for the time, for the moment,” Diaz told MMA Fighting. “He’s the biggest name outside the UFC doing things, like how I’m trying to do.
“That’s what fighters should be doing and we can set an example like I was already trying to do but it takes two to tango and there’s not much out there. Not to mention, they got the Netflix combined with it so that’s a two-for-one.”
During his final few years in the UFC, Diaz dealt with long periods of inactivity before he finally fought out his contract in 2022 with a submission win over Tony Ferguson. That made him a free agent for the first time since he joined The Ultimate Fighter reality show in 2007 and eventually inked his first deal with the UFC.
Diaz maintains that he has no issues with the UFC and he appreciates that the promotion came after him again recently with hopes of bringing him back to his most familiar home in the sport.
But returning to the UFC also certainly comes with signing another multi-fight deal and it’s hard for Diaz to forget how much time it took him to actually reach free agency under his previous contract.
“I think we have a good relationship,” Diaz said about the UFC. “I think it could have been better. I hope they’re not mad that I’m doing what I’m doing. I don’t think they can be. I think they’re not happy with it either.
“It’s business and they’ve got [their own show] but I did too much to get out, too much while I was in to get out and it’s kind of hard to just jump back in when there’s not much on the inside for me at the moment.”
Diaz wouldn’t be opposed to a UFC reunion — even if that means signing another long term deal — if the right opportunities were being afforded to him.
Unfortunately right now, Diaz just isn’t seeing those viable options in the UFC so effectively signing a one-fight deal with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions for the Perry fight just made a lot more sense.
“I would expect [UFC wants me to sign a multi-fight deal], too and I’d be happy with that, too, if there was a handful of guys I wanted to fight in the UFC right now,” Diaz explained. “The thing about the UFC, they’ve got the best of the best and I’m still interested in fighting the best fighters. I still want to fight for a title and I still want to do the best shit you can do.
“I don’t want to just hump around the UFC to play around and waste nobody’s time. Either people need to take action and get out on their own and do stuff and make their [fights]. On the inside, there’s nobody that sparks interest that much at the moment. But you know the UFC, they pop up.”
Ideally, Diaz wishes more fighters would follow his lead and at least see what’s available to them before just automatically signing new deals with the UFC, which effectively keeps them under an exclusive contract forever.
It’s nothing against the UFC necessarily but Diaz knows the only way fighters are going to find out their true worth is hitting the open market and allowing multiple suitors to bid for their services.
There’s no telling if that’s ever going to happen but Diaz would love to see it because that would not only present possible options for his career but it would force the UFC to up the ante when it comes keeping the strongest roster in the sport.
“It would be great if there were a lot more free agents out there doing their thing,” Diaz said. “But I think that’s going to come with time and learning. I think people need to speed it up, step on the f*cking gas and gain control of their careers and their shit and understand what’s really going on here.”
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