Nate Diaz is suing Fanmio and promotor Solomon Engel after allegedly not receiving $9 million of a promised $10 million payday for his boxing match with Jorge Masvidal.
Diaz’s team filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida on Monday, suing for fraud and breach of contract. TMZ first reported the lawsuit with subsequent verification by ESPN. Diaz claims he received $1 million upfront to box Masvidal on July 6 but has not been paid the remaining $9 million he is owed.
“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,” the documents read. “Engel went so far as to threaten he might have to declare bankruptcy to avoid paying Diaz what he owed.”
Engel released a statement calling Diaz’s lawsuit “frivolous” and claiming Diaz had already been paid “seven figures.”
“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,” Engel said in a statement. “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.”
The seven-figure payday Engel mentioned lines up with Diaz’s explanation that he was paid $1 million; however, it doesn’t address the remaining $9 million that would comprise Diaz’s alleged eight-figure purse.
Diaz and Masvidal boxed in a spiritual successor to their November 2019 main event at UFC 244. Diaz avenged his MMA loss to Masvidal, winning a 10-round majority decision for a soldout crowd at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
