Nate Diaz explains why he slapped Khabib Nurmagomedov

During Monday’s episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show show, Nate Diaz explained the reason behind an infamous altercation wherein he slapped UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in the face.

“He was not humble and not this nice guy,” Diaz began. “He was sitting there with his friend trying to making a fight with me, taking a picture of me making fun of me. So I capitalized and said ‘f**k you’ and slapped him in his face.”

Diaz went on to describe how Khabib Nurmagomedov’s ‘Russian army’ did nothing when he allegedly landed this slap.

“He’s new to this whole championship… he could have fought me, but he’s playing big dog, so I don’t need to sit here and f**king wait for no fights, I need to get this show on the road,” Diaz stated.

This altercation between Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team occurred at a World Series of Fighting event in August of 2015, when Nurmagomedov’s brother was fighting. The pair were involved in a brawl that was recorded partly on film. Diaz has previously roasted Nurmagomedov on Instagram about the brawl, and Khabib has mounted plenty of return fire.

Nate Diaz has never been one to shy away from rivalries with his fellow fighters. He has previously taken aim at Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor, and now Nurmagomedov. One thing that Khabib and Nate do have in common is a disdain for the Irish lightweight fighter McGregor.

The next outing for Nate Diaz will be a welterweight fight against Anthony Pettis in Anaheim, California on Aug. 17. He’s claiming he’s done in the UFC lightweight division, but it certainly seems like he’s got a score to settle with Khabib.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 6/3/2019.