UFC superstar Nate Diaz has publicly requested a release from his exclusive contract with the promotion.
Diaz, 36, issued the request on social media on Saturday. He tagged the accounts of the UFC and UFC president Dana White. He also included a tag aimed at Hunter Campbell, the UFC’s chief business officer.
“I would like to request to be released from the [UFC],” Diaz wrote on Twitter. “I apologize for asking online but [you] don’t give me a fight [ASAP] I’ve got s— to do.”
Diaz’s representatives did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment. Diaz’s latest tweet comes three days after he wrote on social media, “Been trying to fight for [seven] months.”
Diaz (20-13) is on the final fight of his UFC contract and has increasingly shown his frustration on social media in recent months. He has publicly offered to fight a variety of opponents, including welterweight contender Vicente Luque, lightweight veteran Tony Ferguson and former interim champion Dustin Poirier, but has yet to be booked.
According to sources, there have been discussions between the UFC and Diaz to extend his deal beyond the one fight left, but the two sides have not reached an agreement.
Earlier this month, White said there was a “very good” chance the UFC would sign Diaz to a new deal. White has repeatedly said the promotion intends to book him a fight.
Diaz, of Stockton, California, has not fought since a decision loss to welterweight Leon Edwards last June. He had expressed a desire to remain active after that fight but is now approaching his ninth month of inactivity.
According to sources, the UFC has offered Diaz a fight since that June bout, against surging welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev (10-0). Diaz declined that offer, citing Chimaev’s lack of UFC experience. He told TMZ in December, “Don’t disrespect me like that, trying to offer me a fight with a rookie.”
Chimaev is currently booked against Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 on April 9. Burns is currently the UFC’s No.-2 ranked welterweight.
Diaz has fought exclusively in the UFC since 2007. He broke into the promotion as a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter reality series, and fought Benson Henderson for the lightweight championship in 2012. His two-fight rivalry with Conor McGregor in 2016 is one of the biggest in the sport’s history.