Nate Diaz files $9M lawsuit against Fanmio after boxing win over Jorge Masvidal
Earlier this month, Nate Diaz defeated Jorge Masvidal in an action-packed boxing match in front of 18,000 fans at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Diaz and Masvidal are primarily known for their star turns in the UFC, but their fight was highly entertaining and received acclaim from fans and media. It offered late career combat possibilities to both.
That was the good part of what was essentially a novelty bout.
The bad part? Actually getting paid.
Monday, just eight days after success in the ring and the minds of onlookers, Diaz filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida against the promotion Fanmio, Inc. and its president Solomon Engel alleging it owes Diaz $9 million for his appearance in the fight.
According to the lawsuit, Fanmio agreed Diaz was to receive $10 million for the fight with “$1 million paid up front and the remaining $9 million paid immediately following the event.” Diaz has yet to receive the second payment.
Engel denied the allegation in a statement.
“Nate Diaz has filed a frivolous lawsuit against Fanmio which claims that fraud and breach of contract were committed by Fanmio, yet neither has taken place,” Engel said. “In fact, Diaz has already been paid seven figures in connection with the fight. I look forward to resolving this dispute through the appropriate process and am confident that justice will prevail. Making salacious and defamatory statements to the media in order to harm my family and I has only strengthened my resolve to ensure that the truth will triumph.”
Diaz and his representatives, the suit alleges, repeatedly expressed concern about Fanmio’s ability to fulfill the contract but were assured via written and verbal promises that the remaining $9 million was in a secure independent account and ready to be transferred.
“Diaz would have never participated in the event if his representatives had not received the foregoing assurances from Fanmio and Engel via their attorney,” the suit reads.
However, the suit alleges, Engel has since told Diaz’s representatives that the event did not achieve the financial success expected, especially on pay-per-view, and payment is impossible.
“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,” the suit reads. “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.
“There is nothing lower or more despicable in the world of boxing than a boxing promoter who allows a fighter to put their health and safety on the line in a boxing event so that the promoter has the chance to make tremendous profits, only to later renege on paying the boxer following the event."
Masvidal and his team are not party to this lawsuit and have not offered comment.
Fanmio is in a promotion business based in South Florida. Per its website, Fanmio was involved in numerous high-profile events including a 2021 exhibition boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Logan Paul and a 2022 slap fighting card presented along with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
