Nate Diaz Denies Suing Fanmio Over Alleged Unpaid Purse
Nate Diaz denied reports that he had sued Fanmio for an alleged unpaid purse of $9 million.
According to reports, Diaz sued the broadcaster, claiming that his promoter Solomon Engel had not paid him the $10 million agreed for the Masvidal fight. Diaz was allegedly only given $1 million as an advance. The lawsuit alleged that Engel had not paid Diaz due to worries that his wife might divorce him due to the financial losses from the event.
Diaz’s Lawsuit
“Fanmio and Engel are now reneging on their written and oral promises and guarantees to pay $9 million owing to Diaz because they claim they are going to lose money on the event. In a flurry of desperate calls to Diaz’s representatives following the event, Engel despondently groveled that he was going to lose more money than he had anticipated on the event if he paid Diaz what he had promised and that his wife might divorce him because of the financial losses. Engel went so far as to threaten he might have to declare bankruptcy to avoid paying Diaz what he owed,” Diaz’s lawsuit said
“Nate Diaz has filed a frivolous lawsuit against Fanmio which claims that fraud and breach of contract were committed by Fanmio, yet neither has taken place. In fact, Diaz has already been paid seven figures in connection with the fight. I look forward to resolving this dispute through the appropriate process and am confident that justice will prevail. Making salacious and defamatory statements to the media in order to harm my family and I has only strengthened my resolve to ensure that the truth will triumph,” Fanmio’s Engel stated
Jake Paul Reacts
The PPV numbers for the event were poor, with the figures ranging from 5,000 to 60,000. That was a massive setback, given how much Diaz did in his prior fight. He faced Jake Paul last August on his boxing debut. Despite hitting the canvas, Diaz managed to see the final bell. Unfortunately, he lost a unanimous decision. The Paul-Diaz fight did 450,000 PPVs. Diaz turned down $15 million to fight Paul in the PFL, making this current issue appear to be a bad deal. Paul has said he is still open to fighting Diaz in MMA, but it would be for much less money.
“I think Nate Diaz and the Masvidal lawsuit just shows how dumb these people are. This is not an easy business. Boxing is not easy. It’s not easy to sell pay-per-views. If someone’s giving you a big guarantee, it’s most likely fraudulent. And Nate Diaz should’ve taken my $15 million MMA offer, but yesterday’s price is not today’s price. So now that he needs the money, the offer goes down. And I’m still down to run it in the PFL against Nate Diaz.
“I think I’ll make the transition into MMA when the opponent — or an opponent — wants to sign a contract. Somebody that I’m interested in fighting for my first MMA fight. And that’s a name like Nate Diaz, I would be interested in fighting Mike Perry. But I want to do MMA. I love it. I have a wrestling background and I think it’d be really exciting,” Paul stated
Diaz Responds
And yet, Diaz has shut down claims that he has issued a lawsuit
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