Nate Diaz has filed a lawsuit against Fanmio, claiming the company still owes him $9 million from his contracted purse for his recent boxing match against Jorge Masvidal.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida on Monday. TMZ initially reported the news. Fanmio served as the promoter of the Masvidal bout.
In the 17-page document obtained by MMA Fighting, Diaz specifically singles out Fanmio and owner/president Solomon Engel for allegedly agreeing to pay him a sum of $10 million for the fight against Masvidal. The lawsuit alleges that Fanmio agreed to pay Diaz $1 million upfront with the additional $9 million payment due after the fight.
Diaz claims “outright fraud” by Fanmio and Engel after guaranteeing the $10 million payday both contractually and verbally.
Despite a sold-out Honda Center in Anaheim for the event, where Diaz scored a majority decision win over Masvidal, the lawsuit alleges that Fanmio is now refusing to pay him the full contracted purse. From the lawsuit filed on Monday:
“Fanmio and Engel are now reneging on their written and oral promises and guarantees to pay $9 million owing to Diaz because they claim they are going to lose money on the event. In a flurry of desperate calls to Diaz’s representatives following the event, Engel despondently groveled that he was going to lose more money than he had anticipated on the event if he paid Diaz what he had promised and that his wife might divorce him because of the financial losses. Engel went so far as to threaten he might have to declare bankruptcy to avoid paying Diaz what he owed.”
The lawsuit claims Fanmio and Engel “intentionally lied” to Diaz and his representatives about having money set aside to make the full payout for his contracted salary and stated that the company’s lawyer sent them paperwork in writing that guaranteed the payout, with the funds allegedly being held in an “independent collection account.”
Since the fight’s conclusion, Diaz claims he hasn’t been paid, which led to the lawsuit being filed against Fanmio and Engel.
Diaz is now seeking punitive damages as well “based on the intentional misconduct and fraud” allegedly committed by Fanmio and Engel.
