Coach says Diaz isn't scared to fight Woodley: 'It's the money'
It's going to take a lot more cabbage to get Nate Diaz back in the cage.
At least that's what the Stockton scrapper's longtime boxing coach, Richard Perez, said on Wednesday's edition of "Submission Radio." The 32-year-old lightweight has recently been attached to a fight with reigning UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 219, but Perez alleges the brass is reluctant to pony up.
"The UFC doesn't want to give Nathan the money," Perez said. "... What Woodley's trying to do, he's trying to get his name up there and he wants to fight the best, so he wants to fight Nathan. But UFC doesn't want to pay Nathan, so why fight him? We can fight McGregor (instead).
"I saw Woodley talking the other day about Nathan being scared, 'scared homie,' you know, but it's not that. It's not all about that, because Nathan ain't scared to fight nobody. It's the money, and Dana White and the UFC doesn't want to pay him. But he deserves it."
Recent reports suggest the UFC has lost its enthusiasm for Woodley vs. Diaz, and with its last card of the year just a month and change away, Perez admitted it's unlikely Diaz will see action before the year is out.
Diaz hasn't re-entered the Octagon since his blockbuster rematch with Conor McGregor fifteen months ago. When asked how much money it would take to coax him back, Perez had an eight-figure answer.
"Fifteen million (dollars) easy. Easy," Perez said. "'Cause, I mean, he's a star right now. I mean, McGregor can’t even fight right now, he got suspended. And Woodley's trying to fight everybody. ...
"He’s naming all these people that don't want to fight him, you know, cause he's trying to get his name, he's trying to get up there, and nobody wants to (fight him). I mean, he's got the belt. So what? The belt don't mean nothing anymore. It's about who you're fighting (if you want) to make the money."
Perez says he's confident that Diaz could outbox and submit the welterweight titlist, but if his prized pupil returns to action, Perez believes it'll be to put a button on his rivalry with the Irishman.
"Everybody wants to see McGregor and Nathan," the coach said. "Woodley is out of the picture."
- With h/t to MMA Fighting