Islam Makhachev and Nate Diaz were said to have been on friendly terms for several months before a scuffle nearly broke out in December.
Makhachev will defend his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan in the main event of UFC 311 on January 18th at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. Makhachev was in Las Vegas in December for promotional reporting and almost got into an altercation with Diaz, who was in town to take on teammate Kron Gracie at UFC 310 the following weekend. Diaz and Makhachev’s team threw water bottles at each other before security was breached. Elevate them without escalating it further.
Nate Diaz and Team Makhachev threw water bottles at each other backstage 😳
#UFC310 pic.twitter.com/gr3TDd5abt
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma)
December 7, 2024
Makhachev had no animosity towards Diaz, but believes Khabib Nurmagomedov may have had something to do with the incident. According to Makhachev, Diaz flipped the bird at one of his masked teammates, possibly mistaking him for an “eagle.” Diaz and Nurmagomedov have a history dating back to their playing days, and they almost got into a brawl at the 2015 World Series of Fighting.
“We sit down before the fight day, I do the press conference, the fighters do the official weigh-ins. We sit down and Diaz starts showing them
[the bird]What for? “Makhachev recently told Demetrius Johnson. “That might be a good thing for someone and that’s fine, but it’s not our style because one of them is wearing a mask. Maybe he’s a little sick and he’s not wearing a mask. And maybe Diaz is thinking, “Oh, it’s Khabib, I’ll show you…but Khabib isn’t in Las Vegas that day, he’s somewhere else.” do not have.
Makhachev also revealed that he met Diaz in an elevator at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas a few months ago. The lightweight champion said Diaz kept two feet apart and simply raised his hands in respect. Makhachev said Diaz should have settled any disagreements in the elevator instead of being forceful when the cameras were rolling.
“Interestingly enough, I met Diaz probably five or six months ago in an elevator at the Wynn Hotel,” Makhachev said. “He came up to me and said, ‘Respect, respect.’ Just walking, what’s changed now?” They always love how people change when a lot of cameras come. We don’t have anything… If he has something, we can settle it at the Wynn hotel, but he comes to me about 2 meters away. [distance]. He says, “Respect, respect,” and leaves. ”
