Nick Diaz Explodes Over Feud With Mayhem Miller; Goes Off On GSP And Manny Pacquiao Paydays

Nick Diaz, Strikeforce welterweight champion

Nick Diaz wants to make one thing very clear when it comes to his grudge match with Jason “Mayhem” Miller. If he’s taking the fight and moving up in weight class to do it, he wants to get paid.

An enraged Diaz lashed out at the allegations that he turned down a fight against Miller due to him being the smaller fighter. The Stockton, Calif.-based welterweight says that he’s willing to go up to 185 pounds to face Miller… if the money is right.

“I’d be happy to move up. I’d like to get paid for it you know?” Diaz said on Thursday. “I don’t like how people try to say that I didn’t accept the fight with Miller because I was too small. I never said anything about that. I said if I’m going to go off track and screw with my whole season, it’s going to screw with my whole year, it’s going to screw with my capabilities of fighting at 170 pounds. If I’m going to do that, I’d like to get paid in full. I would like to have a reason for doing that. Not just do it at everybody else’s convenience.”

Diaz has gone up in weight previously for fights against Scott Smith and Frank Shamrock, but he believes that if he’s going to do it again, Strikeforce needs to pony up some more cash if he’s going to fight at 185 pounds against Miller.

“I’d like to get paid something extra. Double, triple, something crazy for me to do something extra that would screw up my weight to fight at that weight,” Diaz stated.

“I’m not just doing it for free when I’d make the same money to fight at 170 pounds. It’s twice as much work.”

The fight between Diaz and Miller has been brewing since April 2010 when the two were involved in the infamous post-fight brawl in Nashville. Miller entered the cage to challenge then middleweight champion Jake Shields just after his win over Dan Henderson, and a moment later chaos ensued with Mayhem battling Diaz among others in the melee.

Diaz makes it clear that he’s willing to take the fight, but if making weight is the issue, he says Miller should be just as open to cutting down to welterweight if he’s supposed to go up to middleweight.

“I never didn’t want to sign for that fight with Miller. They were talking about making me move weights. I said tell his ass to get in (expletive) shape and make weight like I do. It’s (expletive) hard enough for me to make 170 pounds. He acts like he wouldn’t be able to do it, he doesn’t want to work hard like me, that’s the problem,” Diaz shouted.

“He can work his ass off and make 170 pounds or 175 pounds or somebody can pay me a (expletive) couple million dollars and I’ll move up to 185 pounds and fight him. Or he can quit getting (expletive) slapped in public. I know somebody’s got that (expletive) on video tape. That mother (expletive) doesn’t want to fight me. Talking about he wants to fight me every chance he gets, he (expletive) told the media.”

It’s unclear what video Diaz was speaking about regarding Miller being in a fight out in public, but it’s very evident that the current Strikeforce welterweight champion has some serious venom stored up for the man they call Mayhem.

Diaz’s biggest issue all came down to money. Pointing at the boxing world as a model, Diaz wants to get a big payday if he’s going to go up in weight class to challenge Miller. Without that, it doesn’t sound like the fight is ever likely to happen.

“(Manny) Pacquaio’s making 40 (expletive) million dollars; GSP’s making a couple million dollars. I’m over here (expletive) driving a Honda and my (expletive) breaking down? (Expletive) all you mother (expletive),” Diaz exclaimed.

“I’ll fight at 185 pounds; I’d like to get paid.”

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told MMAWeekly Radio on Wednesday night that the promotion definitely had interest in booking a fight between Diaz and Miller, but after Thursday’s eruption by the welterweight champion, it’s unclear what it will take to make it happen.