True to the Diaz brother brand, the younger Nate has always taken on a devil-may-care approach in terms of self-marketing. And while it may not always sit well with the UFC brass, MMA fans all over have generally shown great appreciation for it.
The 37-year-old Diaz, who will now headline Saturday’s UFC 279 card against fellow OG Tony Ferguson, got to speak with correspondent Megan Olivi ahead of the ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday. In this short interview, he spoke about how “happy” he was about the major change since he never saw “little leaguer” Khamzat Chimaev as a worthy opponent.
But what wasn’t shown on the YouTube clip was Diaz’s comments about the UFC’s current shoe sponsor Project Rock, a partnership between Hollywood A-Lister Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and athletic brand Under Armour. The deal was signed in early 2022.
Fighters are reportedly not being paid to wear those shoes, and Diaz isn’t too thrilled about it.
Asked around and not only are fighters not going to get paid anything to wear the shoes, the UFC is apparently requiring fighters do interviews with Johnson’s media company Seven Bucks.
— John S. Nash (@heynottheface) September 1, 2022
What they didn’t show in the interview pic.twitter.com/QdpwmMkizn
— Mokoflama (@mokoflama) September 10, 2022
“These shoes f–ng suck,” Diaz said towards the end of the interview as he shows it on camera. “Look at these shoes, they made me put this shit on.
“F–k these shoes!”
UFC 279 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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