Nate Diaz defends Dana White against critics of UFC fighter pay

Former UFC superstar Nate Diaz defended his former boss, Dana White, against critics of the promotion’s fighter pay model.

Diaz will face former UFC 244 foe Jorge Masvidal in a professional boxing matchup this Saturday in Anaheim. He returns to the boxing ring after a loss to Jake Paul in his professional debut last year by unanimous decision.

Diaz hasn’t ruled out a potential return to the UFC after this upcoming boxing fight. He hasn’t competed in the Octagon since a win against Tony Ferguson at UFC 279.

Diaz was a significant part of the UFC’s rise in popularity during his promotional tenure. He headlined some of the biggest cards in UFC history, including two record-breaking pay-per-view fights against Conor McGregor.

Diaz is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars in UFC history, and also one of its highest earners. But, the UFC has come under intense scrutiny in recent years for the checks they write for the fighters on their roster.

Diaz dispels the notion that the UFC is grossly underpaying its athletes.

Nate Diaz: UFC fighter pay critics “Don’t have the concept of what it is”

During a recent appearance on the ALL THE SMOKE podcast, Diaz shared why he believes criticism of how the UFC pays its fighters is overblown.

“I don’t think people have the concept of what money is and how much,” Diaz said. “I think Dana White gets a f***ing bad rap. I’m not giving him a good one, but bro, he’s paying a lot more people a lot more money than f***ing people think. I just don’t think people know what’s what…

“I want more money, too. Give those motherf***ers some more money, give me more money too. But he’s paying a lot of people a lot of money, more than the boxing [fighters]. As far as combat sports say, boxing pays the highest-paid fighters a lot more than the UFC has. But the UFC, I think pays a lot more people a lot of money. He pays the whole roster a bunch of f***ing s***. People when they make this s*** happen, though, they should get their own s***.”

Diaz concludes that while the UFC could pay its fighters more money, its fighters could do more to improve their overall worth and value.

White has explained that fighter pay won’t significantly change as long as he’s the CEO of the promotion. In the meantime, Diaz believes that the issue is less severe than most portray it to be.