Nick Diaz coach sad, hurt at lack of contract, quit right before UFC 183

A familiar figure was missing from Nick Diaz’s corner at UFC 183 vs. Anderson Silva. In an interview with Submission Radio, Diaz’s long time boxing trainer Richard Perez explains why.

Well what happened was you know when he fought his last fight – not this one with Anderson Silva, but when he fought George St. Pierre – I didn’t get my percentage on the pay, and I don’t know what happened with the mix up with the manager and Nick. And then so he let the other manager go and he hired this other man named Lloyd [Pierson] as the new manager and they met [up at] my gym; and you know we renegotiated for the purse, and I asked for a contract and they said it was fine. That was in October. So then I started training Nick and I kept calling Lloyd and I wasn’t getting no contract. So I just felt like, you know I think it was around the 12th of January I decided I don’t want to do this anymore, because I don’t want to get burned. So I texted Lloyd and told him I’m not going to do this unless I get my contract like you promised me, and that’s what happened. They didn’t want to give me the contract so I felt like I didn’t want to get burned again. But I guess I did.

It’s sad because I brought him all the way up to the top, and this is what they talk about his, striking and he gets … this guy’s a legend and he gets a big pay, and then I’m being pushed aside. So you know, that’s what happened. So yeah I’m hurt about it. You know and it’s sad because you have a relationship with a guy, teach him to do something that he doesn’t know, and you bring him to the top and he breaks the record for throwing the most punches; and all of a sudden I’m out.

I haven’t heard from either one of them. The manager or Nick. So yeah. It’s sad, it really is, you know because I’ve never had that problem before. Never. And as far as anybody I’ve known that trains boxers or any [other fighters] never had that problem before, I mean that I know of. There probably is [a few] but this is not like….I mean come on. This is….I don’t know. It’s just upsetting, very upsetting. I was just saying it’s like I brought him up, you know? So it’s like I did everything for him. I put everything I know in boxing into him, so he could learn it and do it right. And so he broke the record in throwing the most punches, and then he broke HIS OWN record of throwing the most punches. So that’s what brought him up here, you know? I mean I know he has good jiu Jitsu. Nobody wants to go on the ground with him. So where is there left? The stand up.

I really don’t know what the problem is and what went through his mind or anything, but I texted both of em and let him know that I’m no longer gonna train him, sorry. And if I don’t get my contract – and I sent it to Nick too – I said ‘Nick the ball’s in your court. So it’s your decision,’ and I told Lloyd that too. And the hardest part of it, you know training pros, is doing it with managers. The fighters I never had a problem because they always talk to the managers and say ‘hey, pay Richard.’ So it always went through, but this one it just didn’t work.

Okay, Nate is totally different. He’s day and night. He’s always got my back, ’cause he appreciates what I do for him. He knows that I teach him really good in boxing, he knows that I got him in that boxing….you know throwing good punches. ‘Cause he broke Nick’s record throwing the most punches when he fought Cowboy. But Nathan always takes care of me. He’s never let me down. None of my fighters have ever let me down. This is the first time.

Perez also thinks the lack of his coaching the final 10 days made a difference, and explains why he few uncharacteristically few strikes.

almost had him where he wanted to be,” said Perez. “We had like a week and a half to go left, and I was gonna go full force with him, but where I stopped, I felt like he would do fine. I knew he wasn’t going to throw a lot of punches. I knew that. But I figured he would catch Anderson Silva. But since Anderson Silva’s on steroids, it’s hard to knock people out when they’re on steroids. It’s hard to really wear ‘em down. But if I had of worked with him a little bit more that week and a half, I guarantee you he would’ve stopped him. If I would have been there coaching him, it would have made a big difference too.

I didn’t quite have him there at the peak yet. I needed the rest of the week and a half to get there, and I knew I would’ve got it. I knew I would’ve had him there. ‘Cause the way I train, I’ll go 5, 6 rounds on the mitts with him, 5 minute rounds. And that’s constantly throwing combinations, me throwing the hand back, you know I gotta be careful not to get hit. It’s just, I got him throwing like a machine and that’s what stops people. If they don’t want it or they can’t take the punches, they go to the ground, he taps them out. Yeah so that’s the whole key. I knew, I knew. And then me not being there, you know trying to help him out on what to do, what to throw, what to set up, he was on his own.

Perez also commented sympathetically on Diaz’s positive test for marijuana at twice the limit set by the NSAC, and six times the old limit.

“I mean he does it sometimes and sometimes he doesn’t,” said Perez. “I don’t know, I mean I’m not with him twenty four-seven. So even when I’m there at the fight, you know when we’re there like three or four days before the fight, I’m not around him all the time. So I don’t know when he did it. I can’t answer that. I just do the best I can do and remind him, you know to not do it until after the fight. You want to do whatever you want after the fight? That’s fine. But I don’t know if somebody convinces him, or they pull it out or something and he’s there. I don’t know.

“The marijuana, I don’t know what they’re gonna do. The marijuana, it doesn’t do good for you in the fight. It’s not a steroid, it’s not like, it’s doesn’t affect you and make you stronger, or faster, or anything. It just makes you like, slow. I mean I don’t know. I think he did it like maybe eight days before, nine days, ten days or whatever. Because it takes a while to clear. So I don’t know. You know it could’ve been three days. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”

While Perez rightly pointed out the marijuana is not a performance enhancing drug, he also know that the performance enhancing drugs drostanolone and androstane are in fact performance enhancing drugs. And he thinks it puts Silva entire legacy into question

Oh yeah,” he said. “Because if he didn’t come in with steroids – even though Nick wasn’t throwing a lot of punches – Nick would have stopped him and I know it would have been different.

Steroids make a big difference, steroids make a big difference.

“(Anderson Silva)’s slowed down a lot. In this fight he slowed down a lot, and I don’t know if it was the steroids, or just the long layoff, delay. I don’t know. There’s three things, you can focus on those; and that’s the long layoff, the leg, and the steroids.

I think it has been happening a lot, because I’ve seen some guys that have had muscles on their back that I’ve never seen before. Like don’t get me wrong, but like George St. Pierre, he was bulky.”

Although it was clearly a difficult interview for the coach, it ended on what is for the fans a positive note. Perez does not believe Diaz is done.

Well he’s got two more fights so I’m pretty sure he’ll do the two more fights,” said Perez. “I don’t think he’s just gonna stop right now. I think he’s just disappointed because of the overall, the everything.