The ongoing saga of Nate Diaz and his inability to get a fight from the UFC continued on Saturday, with the Stockton star publicly requesting his release from the promotion.
For months, Diaz (20-13) had been circling a fight with Dustin Poirier, once expected to be the co-main event of UFC 272 earlier this month.
With one fight left on his current contract, however, the promotion has been keen to extend Diaz’s deal, lest a rematch with Conor McGregor, with the potential to be one of the most profitable fights in UFC history, slip through their fingers.
Now, just days after asking to join Bellator’s return to Hawaii next month, Diaz, 36, has asked to be released from the UFC outright.
“I would like to request to be released from the UFC,” Diaz wrote on social media, tagging the promotion, UFC President Dana White, and Hunter Campbell, the promotion’s Chief Business Officer. “I apologize for asking online but [you] don’t give me a fight asap I got sh*t to do.”
Diaz finished the message with a number of emjois, including a palm tree which may or may not signify the Bellator Hawaii card, a boxing glove (Diaz has expressed interest in competing in the sweet science), and several others.
I Would like to request to be released from the @ufc @danawhite @hunter
I apologize for asking online but u don’t give me a fight asap I got shit to do
🏝 🤼♀️ 🥊 👊🏼 🏃♂️— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) March 26, 2022
Although one of the company’s biggest remaining stars, Diaz has lost both of his last two fights, to Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards. His last win came against Anthony Pettis at UFC 241 in 2019, which saw Diaz earn a unanimous decision.
Still, Nate Diaz has been part of some of the most lucrative UFC events in history: his fights against McGregor at UFC 196 and UFC 202 both blew well past the one million buy mark on PPV. While no buyrate has been made public for UFC 244, which featured Diaz vs. Masvidal for the “BMF” title, Dana White went on record in 2019 to say it was trending to be the biggest show that year.
