Fanmio is handling Nate Diaz in a manner reminiscent of Geraldo Rivera’s treatment of Al Capone’s vault.
Sure, they put on a big show and made lots of promises; but in the end, there was no money to be found. According to a lawsuit Diaz filed in U.S. District Court on Monday, promoter Solomon Engel owes the Stockton slugger a whopping $9 million.
Seems like old times.
ESPN has an excerpt from today’s filing:
After the event, Engel made numerous desperate calls to Diaz’s representatives, expressing his distress over the financial implications. He regretfully acknowledged that he would incur greater losses than initially estimated if he fulfilled his promise to pay Diaz. Engel even went as far as to mention the potential consequences, such as his wife contemplating divorce due to the financial setback. In his despair, Engel even hinted at the possibility of declaring bankruptcy as a means to evade his outstanding debt to Diaz.
Diaz was guaranteed an upfront payment of $1 million along with an additional $9 million to be received later.
That explains this expensive request from his longtime coach.
The “Last Man Standing” pay-per-view (PPV), featuring a rematch between Diaz and fellow UFC veteran Jorge Masvidal, appeared troubled from the start. In addition to moving its original date, Fanmio was forced to adjust its PPV price after fan backlash.
Diaz went on to defeat Masvidal by majority decision.
