Outspoken lightweight contender Nate Diaz has requested to be released from the UFC.
In a Twitter post directed at UFC president Dana White Wednesday, the former 155-pound title challenger said it’s time for him to be on his way.
His teammate Gilbert Melendez recently agreed in principle to a lucrative deal with rival promotion Bellator MMA before re-signing with the UFC. Some believe this is a contributing factor to his request since Diaz, one of the most popular fighters in MMA, would be a highly sought-after commodity if he was a free agent.
Diaz’s manager Mike Kogan has declined to comment on his client’s request to be released.
Never one to shy away from expressing his opinion, Diaz has been active on Twitter of late. On Jan. 27, following UFC on FOX: Henderson vs Thomson, Diaz went on a rant where he took shots at lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and former opponents Benson Henderson and Josh Thomson.
Earlier that month, he was aggressive towards his boss after White told reporters Diaz turned down a matchup with unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov. Diaz took to social media and responded: “@danawhite @ufc are full of [expletive] I didn’t turn down anything …”
Last May, Diaz was suspended by the UFC for a tweet that the organization said violated its Fighter Code of Conduct.
Diaz (17-9) has been with the UFC since winning TUF 5 in 2007 and has earned 11 UFC post-fight bonuses, which is the second most of all-time behind only Anderson Silva and Joe Lauzon who each have 12. He holds notable wins over Donald Cerrone, Melvin Guillard, Takanori Gomi and Jim Miller among others.
He is coming off a dominant win in November in which he knocked Gray Maynard out in less than three minutes in the main event of the TUF 18 Finale.
The 28-year-old is the younger brother of popular welterweight Nick Diaz, who has also butted heads with UFC management over the years.
