Shortly after the UFC officially announced that Nate Diaz was set to fight Matt Brown at UFC 189 on July 11, Diaz took to Twitter to put a wrench in those plans.
Nah I’m fighting Pettis
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) April 9, 2015
When contacted by MMAFighting.com, Diaz further explained his tweet.
“We were supposed to meet with the UFC next Monday to get my next fight figured out,” he said, “but then they busted out the Matt Brown fight. I thought I was fighting Anthony Pettis next. He’s trying to fight me and I’m trying to fight him.
“I’m open to the Brown fight — I said I wanted to fight him last year — but I don’t like that they made the fight official before we ever negotiated or agreed to it.”
On a recent episode of “The MMA Hour,” Pettis, who recently lost the UFC lightweight title to Rafael dos Anjos, said he was open to fighting Diaz.
“I can’t even say when I can fight next,” he said, “but I would love to fight Nate Diaz. That’s a fight I’ve been waiting for, for a long time. If that’s next, I’m for sure down with that. I just gotta figure out when I’m able to fight again or when I can start even looking at dates to fight again.”
Last year, while mired in a contract dispute with the UFC, Diaz expressed interest in fighting Brown.
“I want the Matt Brown fight,” Diaz said. “That’s what I’m looking for. I’m trying to fight the baddest motherf**kers out there. I’m not trying to fight some lame ass fighter that they’re trying to build off of me.”
However, Diaz and Pettis have had issues with each other for two years now, so the Stockton-native is still holding out hope his next fight will be against the former 155-pound champion.
Stay tuned.