Yancy Medeiros will always consider Nick and Nate Diaz family, and like any family member, he wants the best for them.
When it comes to Nate Diaz’s apparent stalemate with the UFC, Medeiros believes the promotion should respect Diaz’s wish to leave.
“People are like “What’s the greatest thing going to happen? He should fight this guy. He should fight that man.” Medeiros stated Wednesday on The MMA Hour . “Honestly, I think the best thing for Nate’s career that would happen right now is if he got released from the UFC. That would just blow him up, you know what I mean?”
Diaz has repeatedly asked the UFC for a booking. This is his last obligation under his current contract. Although he reportedly has turned down several previous opponents pitched by the UFC, he has publicly agreed to a rebooking with ex-interim lightweight champ Dustin Poirier, whom he was scheduled to face at UFC 230 before contractual issues reportedly sunk the fight.
On Tuesday, Diaz continued his campaign to free himself from the UFC, tweeting he’d been trying to fight “everyone” with the exception of rival and two-time opponent Conor McGregor.
UFC President Dana White has been optimistic about signing Diaz to a new contract, but it’s unclear whether the booking delay is explicitly tied to that new deal. Diaz has on several occasions vented about not getting paid his fair worth.
Medeiros may not have any inside information, but he believes he knows what’s going on.
“It always has to do with money,” he said. “You see Dustin wants to fight him, and Nate wants to fight Dustin and get his fight out, so I just think you can connect the dots why the UFC doesn’t want to let him go. However, I believe that Nate’s greatest opportunity right now is his release. He knows his stuff, his craft, and there are many people who want to make him wealthy .”
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Medeiros recently bet on himself when he accepted a short-notice, one-fight deal to face Emmanuel Sanchez in a lightweight contest at Bellator 279. In his first appearance since a June 20201 loss to Damir Hadzovic led to his UFC release, he snapped his skid with a decision over two-time featherweight title challenger Sanchez.
The win in Hawaii prompted Medeiros into signing a multi-fight deal with Bellator. Diaz stood cageside as his longtime training partner raised his hand. That’s the kind of support that’s made Medeiros a loyal advocate for Diaz.
“Honestly, when it comes to Nate, I don’t really talk about the fight business to him, because that’s my family,” said Medeiros, who cross trains at the Nick Diaz Academy in Stockton, Calif., when he’s not training in Hawaii. There are so many people out there trying to learn the information. So when I am with Nate, I treat it like my brother and watch his health. But he’s moving, and he’s going to be making moves, because Nate can’t sit still. He’s been sitting still for a while.”
