March 19, 2013

After losing match, UFC fighter says he’s never paid taxes

An athlete holding a media briefing after being beaten may be chalked up as a sign of a poor loser, but admitting on national television to avoiding the IRS?

Isaac M. O'Bannon

After being crushed in the ring by opponent Georges St-Pierre during a Saturday match in Las Vegas, UFC fighter Nick Diaz did a few things: He showed up late for the post-fight conference, he hinted at retiring before saying he wanted a rematch, and then he stated that he has never paid taxes.

An athlete holding a media briefing after being beaten may be chalked up as a sign of a poor loser, but admitting on national television to avoiding the IRS?

“You know what? I’ve never paid taxes in my life. I’m probably going to jail,” he said.

While that comment is sure to get him a little extra scrutiny by tax agents at the state and federal level, his tax situation isn’t all that clear.

“Nick is a little crazy, but he has paidi his taxes,” said Cesar Gracie, the fighter’s trainer and manager told the website MMAJunkie

A lawyer friend of the fighter asserted that Diaz thought the manager had not been taking care of the tax obligations, but the manager says he simply referred him to CPAs, and whether the taxes were filed was “none of my business. He’s a grown man.”

The 29 year-old mixed martial arts fighter has had previous misteps and run-ins with the law, including missing fights and workouts, testing “enormously” positive for marijuana, and fighting outside of the ring.

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Tags: IRS

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Isaac M. O'Bannon

Isaac M. O'Bannon

Managing Editor

Isaac M. O'Bannon is the managing editor and digital content manager for CPA Practice Advisor (www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com), drawing on two decades of experience covering the areas of professional accounting, taxation, business productivity and consumer technologies. . Prior to CPA Practice Advisor, O'Bannon was a consultant at firms in San Francisco, Denver and Tulsa, serving clients that included Logitech, Polycom, Hilti, Microsoft, the Stanford Research Institute, the University of Oklahoma's College of Engineering and other technology leaders. He is a U.S. Navy groundforces veteran (never a SEAL). Email: isaac.obannon - @ - cpapracticeadvisor.com . Isaac OBannon 2019 Cropped Small Headshot