Nate Diaz

UFC President Dana White and fighter Jorge Masvidal are at odds over pay regarding a potential championship bout with welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

On Friday, White spoke with reporters following UFC on ESPN 10 weigh-ins and compared Masvidal with Nate and Nick Diaz (h/t Mike Heck of MMA Fighting).

"Masvidal is very much like the Diaz brothers. He beats to the sound of his own drum and when he wants to do something, he does it. It's not very surprising at all."

As Heck noted, White didn't appear to hold any "ill will" toward Masvidal, who is the No. 3 welterweight, per the latest official rankings.

Masvidal made his stance about fighter pay clear in a series of tweets last Sunday:

"I'm in a contract that I had to take to get paid. Same way I got a new contract to fight till. Then a new contract to fight Nate. They keep extending the amounts of fights to my contract to keep me locked up and when I say I only want a 4 fight contract it's take it or leave it.

"The negotiation is take it or leave it. If I lose you can cut me and not pay out the rest of the contract. If I win I'm not in a position to renegotiate the contract? My dad left a communist regime and has prepared me my whole life.

"Why are all the major names having issues? Conor, Jones, cejudo. We have to take it or retire. I love fighting and this is the fight of our lives."

Masvidal isn't the only fighter concerned about pay, with Conor McGregor, Jon Jones and Henry Cejudo all lending their voices, as the welterweight noted.

White has expressed his take in numerous interviews, including one on ESPN's First Take that included these comments.

"Jon Jones just signed a new deal less than a year ago," White said (h/t Damon Martin of MMA Fighting). "He's got eight fights left on his deal. What do you want me to tell you? The guy's got a deal.

"Same thing with Masvidal. Masvidal just signed a new deal seven months ago. These guys both got brand new deals that they were more than happy to sign less than a year ago."

As for Masvidal, he's said that he believes Usman is "asking for an insane amount of money" from the UFC in regard to his price, per an interview with ESPN's Ariel Helwani.

He also appears to have moved on toward working on a rematch with Nate Diaz for now:

Masvidal holds a 35-13 professional record. He's won his last three fights, including a third-round TKO versus Diaz and a five-second knockout against Ben Askren.

Nate Diaz ripped UFC's decision to give Gilbert Burns a welterweight title shot against Kamaru Usman at UFC 251 on July 11.  

Writing on Twitter, Diaz called out the promotion for giving a championship match to "the guy who would take less" money and said the Usman-Burns showdown "isn't a title fight" (warning: contains profanity):

Diaz's comments come in the wake of multiple UFC fighters expressing their displeasure with what they believe to be lowball offers for potential matchups. 

Jon Jones has engaged in a back and forth with UFC president Dana White after White told ESPN's Brett Okamoto the light-heavyweight champion was asking for "an absurd amount of money" for a fight against Francis Ngannou:   

Jorge Masvidal, who defeated Diaz at UFC 244 and is a top contender in the welterweight division, spoke out about his negotiations for a fight with Usman before UFC went to Burns:

"I'm in a contract that I had to take to get paid. Same way I got a new contract to fight till. Then a new contract to fight Nate. They keep extending the amounts of fights to my contract to keep me locked up and when I say I only want a 4 fight contract it's take it or leave it.

"The negotiation is take it or leave it. If I lose you can cut me and not pay out the rest of the contract. If I win I'm not in a position to renegotiate the contract? My dad left a communist regime and has prepared me my whole life."

Burns is in the midst of a six-fight winning streak, including a victory over former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in the main event of UFC on ESPN on May 30. He's 19-3 overall and has received Performance of the Night bonuses in each of his past two victories. 

Diaz hasn't fought since losing to Masvidal by TKO last November. 

For the third time in four years, Conor McGregor has publicly declared his intention to retire from mixed martial arts.

"Hey guys I've decided to retire from fighting," McGregor tweeted early Sunday morning, just after UFC 250. "Thank you all for the amazing memories! What a ride it's been! Here is a picture of myself and my mother in Las Vegas post one of my World title wins! Pick the home of your dreams Mags I love you! Whatever you desire it's yours."

McGregor previously retired in March 2016 and April 2019. The first retirement lasted all of four months before he was in the Octagon against Nate Diaz. The second was part of protracted negotiations for McGregor's return to the UFC after losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov. He came back to face Donald Cerrone in January at UFC 246.

While it would be easy to dismiss McGregor's claims as another money grab, he told Ariel Helwani of ESPN he's grown "tired" of the sport.

"The game just does not excite me, and that's that. All this waiting around. There's nothing happening. I'm going through opponent options, and there's nothing really there at the minute. There's nothing that's exciting me.

"They should have just kept the ball rolling. I mean, why are they pushing [Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje] back to September? You know what's going to happen in September, something else is going to happen in September, and that's not going to happen. I laid out a plan and a method that was the right move, the right methods to go with. And they always want to balk at that and not make it happen or just drag it on. Whatever I say, they want to go against it to show some kind of power. They should have just done the fight—me and Justin for the interim title—and just kept the ball rolling."

McGregor, 31, said he watched UFC 250 and May 31's UFC Fight Night event and found there to be "no buzz." He said he was unsure whether the lack of crowds played a factor in him losing a passion for the sport.

It remains unlikely the retirement is permanent, but it may be unlikely he returns before he's able to fight again in front of a crowd.

UFC BMF champion Jorge Masvidal seemed to take issue with the UFC through a series of tweets Friday in which he expressed frustration over what UFC is offering to pay him in order to fight. 

Masvidal started by tweeting, "If I'm not worth it let me go," and followed it up with additional tweets focused on money:

Most recently, Masvidal beat Nate Diaz by technical knockout at UFC 244 in November. According to MMA Fighting, Masvidal has since expressed interest in fighting Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington, but he has been unable to secure a fight.

In a subsequent tweet, Masvidal said UFC told him Usman "asked for way too much" to compete in a potential fight with him. Usman is the reigning UFC Welterweight champion, and Masvidal questioned why he should have to take a pay cut from his last fight in order to fight Usman for the title.

Per MMA Fighting, UFC president Dana White responded to Masvidal's tweets Friday and shot down Masvidal's claim that UFC bought an island:

"I think everybody wants more money. I think everybody wants more money in all these other sports ... and Masvidal says, 'You've got enough money to buy islands.' Let me repeat for the [expletive] billionth time: I did not buy an island, OK? We did not buy an island.

"The reason we're doing the ['Fight] Island' is so that fights can go, and these kids from Europe and the rest of the world can make money and can work. So I think a lot of people are really, I don't know if it's frustrated and confused, or whatever the situation is right now. These other sports are trying to figure out negotiations how people will play for half the money they would play for before. Some of these other sports might not even go this year, the way things are looking. People are losing their minds."

White was seemingly referencing Major League Baseball, as the players and owners are struggling to come to terms on salaries for a shortened season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Because of that, it is possible there will be no baseball in 2020.

The 35-year-old Masvidal is currently ranked third in UFC's welterweight rankings behind Gilbert Burns and Covington. He is riding a three-fight winning streak with victories over Diaz, Ben Askren and Darren Till.

Overall, Masvidal is 35-13 in his professional MMA career with 16 wins by way of knockout and two by submission. He also owns the distinction of having the fastest knockout in UFC history, as he beat Askren in just five seconds at UFC 239 last year.

Masvidal vs. Usman or Masvidal vs. Covington would both be worthy pay-per-view main events for UFC and would likely generate a great deal of interest among hardcore UFC fans, but it is clear that Masvidal feels slighted based on the way negotiations have gone thus far.

A fierce MMA greatest-of-all-time debate broke out between Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov on Saturday evening.

The sequence started with McGregor revealing his MMA all-time pound-for-pound rankings, with Anderson Silva at No. 1 and himself at No. 2:

McGregor placed future UFC Hall of Famer and two-division champion Georges St-Pierre at third and current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones a close fourth.

Diaz took umbrage toward McGregor's pound-for-pound GOAT rankings, referencing his submission win against McGregor at UFC 196 in March 2016 while touting his own candidacy (warning: tweets contain profanity):

Khabib, the UFC's currently undefeated lightweight champion, then jumped into the mix and offered his two cents on McGregor's GOAT credentials:

The UFC's current pound-for-pound rankings have Jones at first, with Khabib following in second. McGregor sits in eighth. Diaz is not listed in the top 15.

Fight Matrix gives the all-time nod to St-Pierre, who finished his career with a 26-2 professional record and a 13-match winning streak that lasted an entire decade from 2007 to 2017.

His defeats came against Matt Hughes and Matt Serra, opponents that St-Pierre later defeated in rematches (Hughes twice via TKO and submission and Serra once by TKO).

In other words, St-Pierre beat every opponent he faced.

Jones is second on that list. McGregor's GOAT pick of Silva is fourth, and Khabib is 22nd.

Among the three fighters in the debate, Khabib defeated McGregor via fourth-round submission during their lightweight title match at UFC 229 in October 2018.

Diaz and McGregor have split two fights: the aforementioned Diaz submission win and a majority decision in favor of McGregor at UFC 202 in August 2016. Both Diaz-McGregor fights were welterweight bouts.

Diaz and Khabib have never met in the Octagon.

Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz won't let being left off the UFC 249 card stop them from continuing their feud.

Diaz went after McGregor in the comments of UFC boss Dana White's latest Instagram post Saturday.

Ahead of the prelims for the organization's return to the Octagon, White posted a comment from McGregor wishing all the competitors well and expressing his desire for a safe event. Diaz saw it as an opportunity to attack his longtime rival, which got McGregor to take the bait.

(warning: vulgar language)

"Wishing all my fighting colleagues good health as they put on tonight's show for us!" McGregor wrote. "... Good luck and God speed men and women. From the competitors to the cleaners. Thank you all. ... Also prayers up for Jacare Souza and team in making a full recovery."

Once White posted the comments on his Instagram account, Diaz jumped in.

McGregor responded by telling Diaz to sign the contract for their next bout.

The two each have a victory over the other, making a third matchup only a matter of time.

UFC President Dana White maintained the company would be the first major sports organization back in action amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and he's getting his wish.

The promotion was forced to postpone UFC 249 after receiving pressure from California officials and executives from media partners Disney and ESPN.

However, the event is back on and will emanate from VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on May 9:

White confirmed to ESPN's Brett Okamoto that two more events will follow on May 13 and May 16 in Jacksonville, with the cards for each show still being finalized.

"They want to fight," the UFC chief said of the demand among fighters to get inside the Octagon. "People are hitting us up and want to fight. We're putting together three cards in a week. People who want to fight are going to get fights."

The state of Florida became a possible destination once Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a statewide order saying "employees at a professional sports and media production with a national audience" were exempt from stay-at-home orders.

WWE, for example, has continued operating Raw and SmackDown out of its Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, during the pandemic.

White told Okamoto that UFC is holding a show on May 23 but a location is forthcoming. He added the much ballyhooed "Fight Island" remains a reality:

UFC 249 is headlined by Tony Ferguson's matchup with Justin Gaethje to determine an interim lightweight champion. Gaethje originally took the place of Khabib Nurmagomedov. White told Okamoto the winner will be tentatively slated to oppose Nurmagomedov in September or October.

ESPN's Ariel Helwani wondered whether the outcome could impact Conor McGregor's next step in UFC, namely reigniting his rivalry with Nate Diaz:

"Well, let's say Ferguson beats Gaethje. That should guarantee a Ferguson-Khabib Nurmagomedov fight in the fall, right? It would also knock Gaethje out of a top rankings spot. Who was Gaethje supposed to fight in July? Conor McGregor. No chance they do that fight if Gaethje is coming off a loss, right? OK, what if Gaethje wins, you ask? Then he fights Nurmagomedov, right? Again, freeing up McGregor. Now, in this scenario they could do Ferguson vs. McGregor, but I also feel like either May 9 scenario opens the door to make the trilogy fight between Diaz and McGregor."

McGregor is UFC's biggest star, so the company would presumably want to hold off as long as it can in the hopes that fans are able to attend major events once more, perhaps with a cap on the attendance.

However, that option may not be on the table for the foreseeable future.

John Kavanagh, McGregor's trainer, confirmed to Helwani that an encounter with Gaethje in July had been discussed among the interested parties. In theory, that would allow UFC to cash in on a McGregor-headlined pay-per-view while leaving open a bigger showcase for later this year or 2021.

The possibility of a Diaz vs. McGregor rubber match might be too good to pass up, though, if the necessary pieces fall into place.

Conor McGregor is keeping his options open after beating Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 on Saturday, discussing possible fights with lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, BMF titleholder Jorge Masvidal and longtime rival Nate Diaz during his post-fight press conference.

The Notorious refused to highlight a specific opponent, turning his attention toward possible fight dates, per PFL MMA's Chamatkar Sandhu:

The Notorious took almost no damage against Cowboy, knocking him out inside the first minute of their fight. Cerrone barely threw any punches before McGregor connected with a head kick that sent the 36-year-old to the canvas. He finished the fight with strikes.

After the fight, UFC President Dana White made it clear he believes a rematch with Nurmagomedov should be next for the Irishman. McGregor is more than willing—and would even be open to having the fight in Russia:

The lightweight champion dominated McGregor in their first meeting at UFC 229, but the Notorious looked far sharper and more focused on Saturday. Nurmagomedov's wrestling-based style presents an intriguing matchup when paired with McGregor's striking excellence, and the two already have a strong rivalry.

Masvidal attended Saturday's fight and featured heavily during the broadcast, fueling speculation he could be next for McGregor. While Gamebred doesn't have an official title, he holds the BMF belt, and McGregor would be open to that fight:

With wins over Darren Till, Ben Askren and Diaz, no fighter helped his popularity more than Masvidal in 2019. A fight between him and McGregor would undoubtedly do well at the box office and could also set up the winner for a welterweight title shot against Kamaru Usman.

The rubber match with Diaz seems the least likely fight to make for now, but the Notorious remains committed to making it happen at some point in the future:

Diaz returned to action in 2019 after nearly three years away from the sport, beating Anthony Pettis and losing to Masvidal. He remains a popular figure, and many fans feel the conclusion to their rivalry has to happen.

He's not in the title picture, however, so McGregor seems likely to look elsewhere, knowing the rubber match can be scheduled at a later date.

UFC star Nate Diaz didn't stay quiet during and after Conor McGregor's dominant win over Donald Cerrone at UFC 246, going after the Notorious and BMF titleholder Jorge Masvidal in a series of tweets.

Diaz was not impressed with the first-round knockout and called out the fight as fake (Warning: NSFW language):

He also took a shot at Masvidal's choice of attire after he showed up wearing a designer bathrobe:

McGregor added his name to the list of welterweight contenders in an emphatic way, dispatching Cowboy in 40 seconds. The Notorious looked as sharp as ever in his first UFC win in well over three years, landing several shoulder strikes, dropping his opponent with a head kick and finishing in style.

With champion Kamaru Usman and Masvidal in attendance, the Irishman said he feels good at welterweight during his post-fight interview, before saying he'll fight anyone (Warning: NSFW language):

On top of the welterweight contenders, there's also the possibility of a rematch with lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Even boxing star Floyd Mayweather hinted at a possible rematch with the Notorious in 2020.

The one name noticeably absent among the most frequently discussed candidates was Diaz's:

The 34-year-old has long been a favourite among UFC fans, but he became a household name when he defeated McGregor on short notice at UFC 196, handing him his first loss in the promotion. The Notorious avenged the defeat in an entertaining rematch at UFC 202, and fans have been clamoring for the rubber match ever since.

McGregor took aim at the lightweight belt and a boxing match with Mayweather, however, before finding a new archrival in Nurmagomedov. Diaz spent nearly three years on the sidelines before he returned in 2019 with a dominant win over Anthony Pettis and a loss against Masvidal.

Gamebred dominated Diaz at UFC 244, earning the win and the BMF title by doctor stoppage. The disappointing ending left the door open to a rematch, but Masvidal appears to have turned his attention to a lucrative bout with McGregor.