Less than two weeks after Nate Diaz defeated Jorge Masvidal in a boxing match, a lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Miami on Monday claiming that Diaz is owed $9 million by promoter Solomon Engel and his company, Fanmio.
In a filing acquired by ESPN, Diaz claims that he entered an agreement with Engel and Fanmio to be paid $10 million for the fight against Masvidal with $1 million paid upfront and $9 million paid after the event. The lawsuit states that Engel is now reneging on the deal, claiming that the event is going to lose money.
"In a flurry of desperate calls to Diaz's representatives following the event, Engel despondently groveled that he was going to lose more money than he had anticipated on the event if he paid Diaz what he had promised and that his wife might divorce him because of the financial losses," the lawsuit states. "Engel went so far as to threaten he might have to declare bankruptcy to avoid paying Diaz what he owed."
Diaz is suing for both fraud and breach of contract.
"Nate Diaz has filed a frivolous lawsuit against Fanmio which claims that fraud and breach of contract were committed by Fanmio, yet neither has taken place," Engel said in a statement. "In fact, Diaz has already been paid seven figures in connection with the fight. I look forward to resolving this dispute through the appropriate process and am confident that justice will prevail."
Diaz defeated Masvidal by majority decision in a 10-round boxing match on July 6. The event took place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, and DAZN hosted the pay-per-view broadcast. A news release issued after the event stated that the event was a sellout with 18,040 fans at the Honda Center.