Nick Diaz‘s life after fighting started to take shape a few weeks ago with the creation of Nick Diaz Promotions and the new WAR MMA fight organization.
While little detail has been leaked about the new fight promotion, Diaz along with associate Jonathan Tweedale appear ready to embark on a new venture kicking off in just about a month’s time.
According to the Ticketmaster listing, tickets will soon be on sale for a June 22 event at the Stockton Arena in California as Nick Diaz presents WAR MMA 1. Tickets are not on sale yet, but the listing states the on-sale date as May 29 at 10 am PT.
The Stockton Arena is in Diaz‘s hometown, and the fighter actually competed there once upon a time while working with Elite XC. In July 2008, Diaz fought journeyman Thomas Denny in a card taking place in Stockton. Diaz won by second-round TKO that night. A crowd of 6,572 witnessed the show, which was also broadcast on CBS at the time.
The only hold-up currently preventing Diaz‘s first show from happening is a promoter’s license that he has yet to receive from the California State Athletic Commission.
Executive Director Andy Foster spoke to Bleacher Report on Tuesday, verifying that Diaz has filed for the promoter’s license, but has yet to compete the necessary paperwork and documentation required for approval.
“They’re not done,” Foster said on Tuesday. “They’ve still got time but they need to hurry.”
Foster says that approving a new promotion isn’t a long, arduous process and he’d happily approve them if and when he receives the information he requires for any organization hoping to hold a show in California.
“I can turn it around real quick, I want the business. I can probably turn it around in three days or four days, maybe even faster if they got me the stuff, but the problem is they haven’t gotten me the stuff I need,” Foster stated. “There’s still a few things they’ve got to get me.”
In addition to the information required by Foster, he also states that the California State Athletic Commission will hold a meeting on June 10, and as part of their informal process of approval, any new promotion holding a show in the state typically appears before the commissioners.
“The commissioners are meeting on (June) 10 and they like to meet our new promoters,” Foster said. “They really need to come down there to that meeting in L.A. if they want to do something on the 22nd. Somebody, it doesn’t need to be Nick (Diaz), but somebody needs to show up and say hi to the commissioners.”
Foster’s hope would be to have a finalized fight card and all the information at least 14 days in advance of any show, but there’s no set deadline for how long Diaz and his partners have to get the necessary information filed.
With the commission’s next meeting being held on June 10, however, and a show planned for June 22, things for WAR MMA will need to come together fairly quickly.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com