Nate Diaz and UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev brawled backstage after the UFC 311 press conference in Las Vegas.
Nate Diaz is known to ruffle a lot of feathers and cause chaos in and out of the Octagon. Although he is not currently signed to the UFC roster, he is in Las Vegas supporting one of his teammates and had a not-so-friendly encounter with Islam Makhachev.
Diaz, who defeated former BMF foe Jorge Masvidal for his first professional boxing victory earlier this year, left the UFC after a win at UFC 279. He has since teased a possible return to the Octagon, although he is set to return turn to boxing. after watching Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson.
Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov have a heated past, including several near-fights during their storied careers. This time, Diaz chose to shoot at Nurmagomedov's student, Makhachev, in the form of a water bottle throw.
Photos by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images, Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Nate Diaz reignites the feud with Team Khabib during a backstage brawl
As filmed by ESPN MMA, Diaz and Makhachev can be seen barking from a distance before Diaz tells Makhachev to “move off.” He then threw a bottle of water at Makhachev and his team, almost causing chaos before security regained control backstage.
Makhachev was in Las Vegas to promote UFC 311, with his rematch with Arman Tsarukyan in the main event. He returns to the Octagon after defeating Dustin Poirier by submission at UFC 302 earlier this year.
At the time of writing, neither Makhachev nor Diaz have publicly discussed the incident on their social media pages. But for now, it seems cooler heads have prevailed, although it's uncertain how long that will last.
Diaz punched Nurmagomedov during a collision in 2015, sparking a years-long feud with one of the most decorated teams in MMA.
Diaz and Makhachev were not involved in the only altercation backstage at the UFC 311 press conference. Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov stoked the flames of their beef before the press conference started, almost getting into a fight before security separated them.
Nate Diaz is on the cusp of a fighting return following the rematch victory over Jorge Masvidal
During his UFC stint, Diaz was one of the UFC's biggest draws, especially after his back-to-back fights with Conor McGregor. He pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history when he knocked out McGregor on a day's notice at UFC 196.
Diaz could potentially return to the UFC for a trilogy fight with McGregor, despite the latter's continued hiatus from fighting. McGregor has not competed since suffering his leg injury at UFC 264.
Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan 2 marks the start of what should be another star-studded year for the UFC in 2025. The champion Makhachev defeated Tsarukyan in their first unanimous decision match of 2019.
While UFC CEO Dana White focuses on UFC 310 on Saturday, he will likely address the Diaz/Makhachev incident this weekend. Expect UFC security to increase next time these two are in the same area at a different location.
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