Tyson Fury has been offered a deal with a bare-knuckle fighting promotion - and could be joined by UFC legend Nate Diaz.
World heavyweight champion Fury is one of the highest paid athletes in the world, and is highly unlikely to make the move away from traditional boxing at this point in his career. But Diaz, who just left the UFC and is approaching free agency, could be tempted to make the move into a new avenue as he looks to switch into boxing.
He is currently unable to negotiate his next move as his contract with the MMA leader runs its course, but there are bound to be a number of major offers available for the former lightweight title contender. And Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship boss David Feldman plans to make a big play, particularly given his newfound funding as part of the Triller network.
“Realistically, I want Nate Diaz,” Feldman said in a chat with TMZ Sports. “We weren’t allowed to make a play for him yet because he was in that UFC window. This partnership I did with Triller, when this thing goes public in late December or early January, the funding is going to be available and I want everybody.
"I don’t mean to sound that cocky, but I want everybody. I will be in the business for every single free agent that ever comes to market now. That’s what’s really gonna take it for us to blow up. We’re definitely very popular around the world. People know about bare knuckle. They know BKFC. They enjoy the fights. But one of two of those names I think really catapults us.”
Would you like to see Tyson Fury or Nate Diaz in bare-knuckle boxing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
And Feldman admitted that the Fury idea was something that he is less sure of happening, indicating he made an effort to get the world heavyweight champion involved more as a partner in the business than a fighter. Fury comes from a bare-knuckle background and is related to the likes of Bartley Gorman, but he has never had a fight without gloves in his life.
“We made a play for Tyson Fury,” Feldman added. “But, he has three more boxing matches that he’s definitely slated to do. It was a different kind of deal. I mean it was a deal where he'd be involved in the growth of this thing and maybe get a piece of the company. At this time he can’t do it right now, but we’re going to revisit that.”
The first of those three fights would, theoretically, be this weekend's title defence against Derek Chisora at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Fury will likely then move on to an undisputed fight with Oleksandr Usyk next year, with a rematch or another big fight to happen later in 2023.
