Matt Brown Says Scheduled UFC 189 Fight with Nate Diaz 'Isn't Happening'

A tantalizing battle between two bad-tempered brawlers has hit the canvas before it ever hit the cage.

Just last week, broadcaster Ariel Helwani announced on UFC Tonight that welterweights Matt Brown and Nate Diaz would meet this July at UFC 189.

But confusion and conflict have reigned ever since, and on Wednesday Brown tweeted that the fight was off. 

"

Fight against @NateDiaz209 isn't happening. I'll update you guys soon as I get the word on opponent/date/ thanks for the support as always!

— Matt Brown (@IamTheImmortal) April 15, 2015 "

Shortly after Helwani's televised announcement last week, Diaz sent a tweet of his own, apparently referring to a lightweight bout with recent ex-champ Anthony Pettis: 

"

Nah I'm fighting Pettis🔫

— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) April 9, 2015 "

This past Monday, Diaz showed up on Helwani's broadcast, The MMA Hour, and denied ever explicitly green-lighting the bout, via MMAFighting.com:

"

I would really like to know a little bit more about what I'm doing, instead of just, you know, being strong-armed into a fight. I don't need to hear that I'm fighting this guy before it was even negotiated or worked out, and now I'm saying ‘no, that fight is not official,' and now it's like I'm the guy not taking the fight or pulling out of a fight. But that's not the situation at all because I like this fight. I just would like to be, I don't know, appreciated a little better and make sure stuff is confirmed before just blowing it out of proportion.

"

Though it is entirely possible that fans and observers will never know what really happened, it seems that at least one of the parties did not properly or fully execute some aspect of the fight-making process.

Diaz is an uncommon entity on the UFC roster in that he feels comfortable criticizing the company's decisions. He has recently taken public issue with his level of pay and the UFC's sponsorship deal with Reebok, among other things.

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

UFC officials have fired back in the past, removing Diaz from the official rankings and taking him to task for what UFC President Dana White referred to as a "laundry list" of problems.

It is unclear what might happen next for Brown or Diaz as far as fights go. Pettis, the opponent Diaz called for in his original tweet, is now scheduled to face Myles Jury, UFC officials announced on Twitter Tuesday.

Brown (19-13) has 12 wins by way of knockout. Diaz (17-10) has four wins by knockout and 11 by submission.