A week ago it was announced by the UFC that Matt Brown would fight Nate Diaz next at UFC 189, but it appears that is no longer the case.
“Fight against @NateDiaz209 isn’t happening,” Brown revealed on Twitter. “I’ll update you guys soon as I get the word on opponent/date/ thanks for the support as always!”
Brown later revealed that Diaz failing to sign the fight was the the reason behind the cancellation.
Diaz has had an increasingly turbulent relationship with the UFC in recent years and when news of this intended match-up first emerged he voiced his annoyance that he’d not been consulted about it first before it became public.
On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour show with Ariel Helwani, Diaz stated that while he felt Brown was a good match-up for him, “it was never talked about, and it kind of feels like I’m being forced into a fight instead of talked to and dealt with fairly.”
Diaz had been eyeing a potential lightweight match-up with former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, but since he’s just been lined up to face Myles Jury at UFC On FOX 16 it’s unclear what will now come next for Diaz, and at this stage Brown is in the dark about who he’ll be facing instead.
Despite the confusion it appears that Brown is not holding a grudge against Diaz for the way things have panned out.
“By the way I like watching Diaz fight lw’s,” Brown wrote on Twitter. “I wish him the best of luck in the future and I’ll be watching every time he fights.”
