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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Will Nate Diaz be fighting Matt Brown at UFC 189? Well, it's not set yet.
After the welterweight matchup was announced on Wednesday's UFC Tonight program on Fox Sports 1, Diaz took to Twitter to say that wasn't the case, and clarified in an interview with MMAFighting.com that the UFC announced the bout before it had been finalized.
"We were supposed to meet with the UFC next Monday to get my next fight figured out," he said, "but then they busted out the Matt Brown fight. I thought I was fighting Anthony Pettis next. He's trying to fight me and I'm trying to fight him.
"I'm open to the Brown fight - I said I wanted to fight him last year - but I don't like that they made the fight official before we ever negotiated or agreed to it."
Penick's Analysis: This is far from the first time that the UFC has announced a fight that wasn't actually booked. Brown thought it was, as he made a comment on Twitter about the matchup after it was announced. However, the UFC shouldn't be announcing the fight if they don't have it set with both competitors. It's a way to try to force a fighter to take the bout or risk disappointing fans after it's been announced, and it's a bit ridiculous. Hopefully something comes together soon, but for now, last night's announcement was premature.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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