A lawsuit has been filed against Nate Diaz by his former management agency.
The Ballengee Group filed the lawsuit, claiming that Nate Diaz committed theft, breach of contract and fraud, among other charges. The news was first reported by TMZ and it was later confirmed with more details by MMA Fighting.
The group claims to have negotiated several deals for Diaz, including his back-to-back PPV smash hits against Conor McGregor at UFC 196 and UFC 202.
Diaz banked $2 million in disclosed pay against McGregor at UFC 202 and $500,000 at UFC 196. However, he likely earned way more from both events with PPV points and other bonuses added. Both fights against McGregor were two of the most lucrative events in UFC history.
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According to the complaint, the Ballengee Group never received their contracted compensation for negotiating the deals after Diaz “unexpectedly terminated” Ballengee’s representation of him in July 2016. This supposedly happened after the contract was already in place for UFC 202 last August.
Ballengee attorney Jason H. Friedman told MMA Fighting the agency is seeking more than $1 million from Diaz in the suit.
He also confirmed that UFC fighter Leslie Smith and attorney Sam Awad were also named as a defendant in the complaint. Ballengee are claiming that Smith committed theft, fraud, breach of contract, and that Awad and Diaz convinced her to terminate her deal with Ballengee without paying the company what she owed it per her contract.
