Nate Diaz has filed a lawsuit against Fanmio for breach of contract and fraud, claiming the company still owes him 90% of his guaranteed purse for fighting Jorge Masvidal on July 6.
The former UFC star’s attorney, Jeremiah Reynolds, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Miami on Monday, alleging that Fanmio and promoter Solomon Engel have refused to pony up $9 million as part of Diaz’s contract for the fight.
TMZ Sports reports that Diaz received $1 million upfront and was to receive the remainder—totaling $10 million—once his rematch with ‘Gamebred’ was in the books. Less than two weeks later, Diaz is claiming that Engel has outright refused, claiming that the profits from the Anaheim event weren’t as expected.
Diaz also alleged that Engel told him he couldn’t pay because he would then be forced to file for bankruptcy and his wife would likely leave him due to the financial loss.
“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 is also seeking punitive damages “based on the intentional misconduct and fraud” allegedly committed by Fanmio and Engel.
Nate Diaz is suing Fanmio.
He was supposed to be paid $10M. He received $1M up front and is owed $9M.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/5Yd3sVgJd7
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) July 15, 2024
Nate Diaz Evens the Score with ‘Gamebred’ in Front of Sell-Out Crowd
Diaz came out on top in his rematch with Masvidal, scoring a majority decision five years after coming up short in their inaugural meeting under the UFC banner. The fight, which emanated from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California was said to have hosted a sell-out crowd of 18,040 per a press release following the event.
The card was broadcast through Fanmio, DAZN, and UFC FightPass with an initial asking price of $79.99. However, the cost was reduced to $49.99 in the weeks leading up to the contest.
No official pay-per-view numbers have been released.
Check out highlights from the fight below:
