Bellator president Scott Coker could have jumped the gun when talking earlier this week in regards to the promotion’s contact with Nate Diaz.
Forward of Bellator 285, which came about at 3Arena in Dublin, Eire, Coker was requested in regards to the promotion’s curiosity in signing Nate Diaz, and whether or not or not conversations have already taken place with the 37-year-old fighter.
Diaz not too long ago grew to become a free agent after finishing his contractual obligations with the UFC. His main event submission victory over Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 was the ultimate struggle on his contract.
“Properly, we’re positively speaking to him,” Coker said earlier this week. “We’ve reached out and I do know he’s in all probability speaking to everyone. He’s, I feel, in a reasonably good scenario. I do know he desires to struggle Jake Paul. Jake Paul’s preventing, you already know, in opposition to Anderson Silva on Showtime pay-per-view, which is our house community, so there’s some synergies right here.”
After the conclusion of Bellator 285, Coker clarified his feedback, explaining that the promotion contacted his administration group, however nothing additional has occurred as a result of unique negotiation interval Diaz is beneath till December.
“Properly, right here’s the factor, is that my guys reached out to the administration and the administration got here again and stated, ‘Look, he nonetheless has an unique negotiation interval,’” Coker instructed reporters on the Bellator 285 post-event information convention. “So, let’s see how that performs out.”
UFC contracts usually have a three-month unique negotiation interval that the promotion has not waived with one in every of its former largest stars. Whereas Diaz has expressed he wants to explore options outside of the UFC for the time being, legally no different negotiations can happen throughout that interval.
