Bellator has already been in contact with possibly the biggest name in MMA free agency.
According to Bellator president Scott Coker, the promotion has reached out and has engaged in talks with Nate Diaz, following his final UFC bout at UFC 279 in Las Vegas. After Diaz submitted Tony Ferguson in the fourth round of the pay-per-view main event, his contractual obligations with the UFC were completed and is free to pursue other opportunities.
According to Coker, who is in Dublin, Ireland for Bellator 285, the promotion was quick to reach out in hope of potentially securing his services.
“Well, we are definitely talking to him,” Coker told BBC Sport. “We’ve reached out and I know he’s probably talking to everybody. He’s, I think, in a pretty good situation. I know he wants to fight Jake Paul. Jake Paul’s fighting, you know, against Anderson Silva on Showtime pay-per-view, which is our home network, so there’s some synergies here.”
“We are in dialogue”
Bellator president Scott Coker says the promotion have “reached out” to Nate Diaz about a potential deal #bbcmma #mma pic.twitter.com/4dJBR8Yx2f
— Paul Battison (@PaulBattison) September 21, 2022
With many options available, Diaz did confirm he has an interest in boxing against Paul in the near future. Paul is currently scheduled to face former UFC champion Silva on Oct. 29 in Phoenix.
Diaz fought 28 times under the UFC banner. He debuted with the promotion in 2007, and over the years, became one of the biggest names in the sport of MMA thanks to his personality and fighting style.
While Diaz may still be weighing his options, Coker hopes he will be able to pin down one of the biggest names available for Bellator.
“We’re just hoping that we could have some type of deal to at least have his MMA fights with Bellator,” Coker said. “We are in dialogue.”
