Diaz: You don’t think I’m brilliant?

UFC lightweight Nate Diaz signed an 8-fight contract in 2012, prior to a presumably lucrative title shot vs. then champion Benson Henderson. Diaz’s next fight, vs. Josh Thompson, was a loss, and earned a disclosed salary of just $15,000.

While this was absolutely not his entire income from the fight, on paper, it is not a lot of paper. Nate’s big brother Nick has previously incurred fines calculated as a percentage of the contracted money, for consuming the demon week marijuana. Thus it would be wise for the brothers to keep their declared salaries to a minimum. Still, 15/15 is not a lot to show.

In keeping with UFC contracts that escalate only on a win, for his next fight, a win over Gray Maynard, Diaz made a disclosed salary of $30,000 (15/15).

Then the UFC signed his Cesar Gracie teammate Gil Melendez after a bidding war with Bellator. Gil’s contract guaranteed 75% of his fights would be on PPV, and with a threshhold lower than any fighter in league history. And El Nino’s show money his very first fight was $175,000. Melendez won only one of his five fights since, a decision over Diego Sanchez.

Apparently learning about the numbers in the contract his teammate had signed, Diaz asked to be released, and was pulled from the rankings at one point for inactivity.

Diaz’s next fight, the show money escalated from 15k to 20k. But he lost to Rafael Dos Anjos, and was fined $4,000 for missing weight, so made $16,000, disclosed. His next fight was a Fight of the Night win over Michael Johnson. Since he lost vs. RDA, he stayed at 20/20 (plus 50k for the fight of the night).

And then Diaz fought Conor McGregor on 11 days notice, making a reported two million dollars. He is in all likelihood getting more still for the rematch in the main event of UFC 202 on Saturday night.

ESPN’s Brett Okamoto went on a ride along through Stockton with Diaz, and the pair discussed the long, strange trip.

“I didn’t even think about money until like five years ago and I was like, ‘Damn! I’ve been fighting for eight years and I don’t have much to show for it except a bunch of scars on my face,’” said Diaz, as transcribed by Thomas Myers for MMA Mania. “At first I flipped out, I was like, ‘There is money being made here!’ I started looking at numbers and I was like, ‘WHOA! You guys are making this much?!?!’ I just have to get paid.”

“If anyone doesn’t see what I have done and doesn’t think it’s brilliant, then they just don’t like the way I look, or don’t like the way I fight or don’t like the way I talk. But, guess what? That’s what f***ing sells … what do you do?”

Nate Diaz fights Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 202 on Saturday night.