The reigning UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, denies that his team was the instigator of the recent altercation with Nate Diaz’s team, which ended with bottles being thrown and security stepping in.
“I had a press conference scheduled, and we waited while the fighters were being weighed in,” Islam Makhachev said in an interview with Demetrius Johnson.
“Diaz, who was nearby, started giving us the middle finger. Why did he do that? Maybe this is the norm for some, no problem, but it’s not our style. One of my teammates was wearing a mask, and maybe Diaz thought it was Khabib. I do not know”
“The interesting thing is that five or six months ago, I met Diaz in a hotel elevator in Las Vegas. He came up to me, said, ‘Respect, respect,’ and just walked away. But what has changed this time? When there are a lot of cameras around, it changes some people. If he had any complaints against me, we could have resolved it at the hotel, he was standing two meters away from me, but he said ‘respect, respect’ and left. Everything changes when there are cameras. People thought it was me who started it, even though it wasn’t like that.”
Nate Diaz needs to fix up acting like a 5 yr old
— MrTestoestrogen (@MrTestoestrogen) January 7, 2025
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As a reminder, on January 18 at UFC 311 in Los Angeles, Islam Makhachev will defend his title against his fellow countryman Arman Tsarukyan. Meanwhile, Nate Diaz, who left the organization two years ago, is rumored to make his return to the roster of the world’s premier fighting league this year.