Islam Makhachev addresses near-brawl with Nate Diaz at UFC 311 press conference: “What changed now?”
UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has opened up on his near-brawl with Nate Diaz.
The two stars were in Las Vegas for last month’s UFC 311 presser. In the pay-per-view headliner next month in Los Angeles, Islam Makhachev will meet rising contender Arman Tsarukyan. The Russian famously handed the young lightweight a unanimous decision loss in Saint Petersburg back in 2019. However, tensions weren’t high between Makhachev and his next title challenger at the press conference.
Instead, the lightweight champion nearly got into a brawl with Nate Diaz’s team. The Stockton native was in town to corner Kron Gracie at UFC 310 that weekend, who faced Bryce Mitchell. Backstage at the UFC 311 presser, Diaz threw a water bottle at Islam Makhachev, prompting the champion’s team to throw objects back.
Luckily, nothing too bad broke out between the two teams. However, it was just one of a long series of incidents between Nate Diaz, and Islam Makhachev’s team. In 2015, the longtime UFC fan favorite got into a fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov at a World Series of Fighting event. Almost a decade later, Diaz nearly brawled with ‘The Eagle’s longtime friend and training partner.
RELATED: TONY FERGUSON SLAMS ‘FATHEAD’ KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV OVER IRISH MMA COMMENTS: “YOU’RE STILL MY B*TCH”
— COMBAT (@C0MB4TT) January 7, 2025
Islam Makhachev reflects on water bottle incident with Nate Diaz at UFC 311 presser
Speaking in a recent interview with Demetrious Johnson, Islam Makhachev opened up about the incident. There, the UFC lightweight champion admitted that he thought things were totally fine between himself and Nate Diaz. However, Makhachev believes the near-brawl could’ve been set off by the star’s belief that Khabib Nurmagomedov could be with him.
“Next day, they put me inside, close to the cage and to sit with Dana.” Islam Makhachev stated, reflecting on the water bottle incident with Nate Diaz at UFC 310. “Dana said, ‘You are troublemaker’. I said, ‘Dana, it’s not my fault’. We’re sitting before the fight day, I have press conference and fighters have the official weigh-in. We sit and Diaz start to show them [the middle finger]. Maybe, for some people it’s good, but it’s not our style [to let that go].”
He continued, “One of the guys, he wear a mask, maybe he sick and he wear the mask. Maybe Diaz thinking it’s Khabib, and wanted to show him. But that day, Khabib wasn’t in Vegas, he was in our country. Who knows [why Diaz doesn’t like Khabib]. Five or six months ago, I met Diaz in the elevator in the hotel, and he go across to me and said ‘Respect’. What changed now?”
What do you make of these comments from the UFC lightweight champion? How do you think a fight between Islam Makhachev and Nate Diaz would go?
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
Previous Post
Topics:
Islam Makhachev Nate Diaz UFC
