Nate Diaz is officially a free agent.
Diaz has reportedly been removed from the UFC roster, UFC officials and Diaz’s representative Zach Rosenfield confirmed to MMA Fighting on Tuesday.
The one-time UFC title challenger fought out his contract in September with a win over Tony Ferguson – this marked his first fight in over a year.
Diaz was originally scheduled to face rising welterweight prospect Khamzat Chimaev, but that fell through during the weigh-in when Chimaev tipped the scales 7.5 pounds overweight.
As a result, it forced a last-minute shuffle of matchups. Diaz ended up facing Tony Ferguson and Chimaev fought Kevin Holland.
While Diaz was inactive for a year, he made it clear that he had intentions of leaving the UFC.
In July, Diaz asked the UFC to have his last fight so that he can leave the promotion. He also expressed interest in facing Jake Paul in a boxing match, but he was unable to pursue it because he was under contract.
In September, after defeating Anderson Silva, Paul said that a bout with Diaz would “100%” happen. Earlier that month, Diaz applied for a promoter’s license for Real Fight, Inc, which is where he plans to promote fights involving boxing, MMA and grappling.
Diaz left the UFC after 15 years. He picked up wins against some of MMA’s top names including Donald Cerrone and – probably one of the most memorable – Conor McGregor.