Nate Diaz refutes Dana White’s claim, saying, ‘I’ve been given zero fights in nine months.’

Nate Diaz and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White continue to go back and forth over who is to blame for the Stockton, California, slugger’s inactivity.

Diaz claimed that the UFC was keeping him hostage when he appeared on a special episode of The MMA Hour earlier this week to talk about his difficulties getting the last fight under his contract. He said that he wasn’t getting many invitations to fight. Instead, UFC was always attempting to sign him to a new deal during their interactions.

“I’ve said this a million times and I’ll say it again, we can’t hold guys hostage,” White remarked. “It’s not possible. I owe you three fights a year. If I don’t fight you three times a year I have to pay you. How can I hold him hostage?”   “I have to get him three fights a year. I offer fights. He either accepts them, or turns them down. Obviously I’m not paying him, so I’ve offered him fights.”

The UFC is not required to “fight” competitors three times a year, but it must offer an athlete a certain number of fights throughout the course of a contract. Fighters also claim that the term of “offer” isn’t precisely in their advantage. Indeed, the UFC has been known to offer competitors matches that they are unable to take because their visas are being renewed or because they are injured.

Diaz promptly reacted to White’s remarks on social media.

“Dana said Francis Ngannou was injured and couldn’t fight right now Idk why he was so confused in interview. And in the last 9 months I been offered 0 fights and I asked for 5 legitimate opponents .. Thanks u for the kind words can I go now,” Diaz wrote.

The UFC’s contracts contain a slew of amusing clauses that allow it to play games with its athletes. Many have discussed the promotion’s tolling rules, which allow a fighter’s contract to be extended if they are injured or decline contests. Dominick Cruz recently stated that the UFC stopped giving him matches for six months after he declined a quick turnaround fight following his win over Pedro Munhoz in December 2021, leaving him healthy on the sidelines.

We are certain that UFC is within its legal rights to do what it is doing to Diaz, but putting an athlete with a short career window on the shelf for more than a year is unacceptable. UFC is plainly interfering with Diaz’s career, since he wants to quit the company and refuses to re-sign.