When Nate Diaz returns to the UFC to square off against Rafael dos Anjos, it will not be without controversy.
During his previous contract negotiation, Dana White said that Nate Diaz “doesn’t move the needle” with regard to Diaz’s drawing ability and many believed that Diaz might not return to the UFC.
Diaz recently appeared on Chael Sonnen’s “You’re Welcome” podcast to offer details about why he felt slighted during the contract negotiation and why he feels he is still underpaid.
“I went to sign this contract to fight for the title against Henderson, and when I went to sign my contract, they were locking me down for eight fights for sh-tty pay,” Diaz said in an interview on the “You’re Welcome! With Chael Sonnen” podcast. “I was like, ‘This is a world title fight, and you’re going to pay me this chump change?’… I’m like, ‘OK, this is ridiculous, still, because this is a world title fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. That means I’m fighting to be the No. 1 fighter in the world at 155 pounds.’ I think it’s ridiculous because the No. 1 in any sport is probably a millionaire – in golf, in tennis and in soccer.”
He continued:
“I feel like I’ve been taken advantage of for a lot of years with the whole situation,” Diaz said. “More so because I kind of grew up in this, and I didn’t understand or know what was what with money and contracts, and what was happening, until one morning I woke and for some reason I was like, ‘Hold up. I’ve been really underappreciated, underpaid, under-all-kinds-of-sh-t.'”
“I wanted to try to get my situation fixed. I was trying to get a fight going on, but at the same time I didn’t want – it was a whole mess going on. But everything got cleared, up and I’m ready to get back to work and do my thing.”
