The UFC and president Dana White have increasingly been under scrutiny in recent years around the topic of fighter pay.
The always-entertaining Nate Diaz was at times public enemy number one, frequently calling on White for more favorable pay and better contractual terms.
Diaz (22-13 MMA, 13 Submission, 5 KOs, 4 Decisions) is now a free agent and is pursuing different fighting paths after nearly two decades as an MMA icon.
On Saturday, Diaz will begin a new career as a pro boxer when he takes on Jake Paul (6-1, 4 KOs).
Diaz will earn a handsome purse against Paul, and he said he would have to fight anywhere from one to three times in the UFC to earn the same amount he is fighting Paul.
“Probably one, maybe twice, maybe three. I don't know. Depends on how many people watch, I guess,” Diaz said in an interview with BoxingScene.com and other reporters.
“I got paid pretty good in the UFC. Different from everybody else. I don't like to yell out and scream about money and making all kinds of money but I would like to say that people get it twisted when they think that I wasn't getting much.”
Diaz went on to predict that his PPV against Paul would reach two million buys.
Diaz most notoriously monetized on his career-best win against Conor McGregor in 2016 and fought and lost to the Irishman again later that year.
The 38-year-old is still calling for a trilogy fight against McGregor regardless of discipline.
“If me and Conor fight, it's going to be a real [MMA] fight,” said Diaz. “Maybe later if he's boxing and I'm boxing. Everything is a possibility. I want to fight a couple other people at the moment. I want to fight somebody new who is doing something. Time will tell.”
The Paul-Diaz fight will stream stateside on DAZN, ESPN+ and PPV.com and can be purchased for $59.99. The show is also available internationally via FITE. The event will take place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.