Nate Diaz claims he gave Khabib Nurmagomedov a slap for bullying him
UFC fighters are known to exaggerate feuds and rivalries to hype up their fights. That’s true for all fighting promotions, and fans can tell what’s real and what’s not.
But one rivalry everyone knows is 100% real is between Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov. The two are yet to meet inside the octagon but have clashed multiple times outside it, with Nate claiming he slapped ‘The Eagle’ on one occasion.
This is a story from 2015 when both of them were present at the World Series of Fighting event at Las Vegas’ Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. Diaz was there to support his long-time friend and training partner, Jake Shields.
The Russian was in the corner of his cousin brother, Abubakar Nurmagomedov, who was scheduled to fight Shields. He then collided with the Russian and claimed later that his team was making fun of him.
‘The Stockton Slugger’ claims he gave Khabib Nurmagomedov a slap for making fun of him and that the 29-0 UFC lightweight champion ran away when he wanted to confront him outside after the incident.
“When I ran into him and his team at the World Series, I was standing there watching Jake, my friend, fight. And they took a group picture with me behind them, just to laugh at me, make fun of me. They’re all laughing, 12 Russian dudes. I slapped him in his face for making fun of me and I’m like, ‘What?’ And he didn’t do nothing. I was outside, furious, so I waited for him to come out there and I went to get him again and he ran off.”
Nurmagomedov remembers the incident differently, and posted a video of it last year. The two relived that incident on Twitter and fans were divided as to who really had the upper hand in that confrontation.
The bad blood continued and it reached boiling point again at UFC 239 in July 2019. This happened a few months after their altercation on Twitter and was undoubtedly fuelled by the incident in 2015.
The two collided in the stands and looked like they were primed to go against one another again. However, UFC officials were not going to let the WSOF 22 incident be repeated again which went on for a while and resulted in the Diaz brothers being kicked out.
Diaz is not through with the Russian, even though Nurmagomedov retired from the sport after UFC 254. The American made clear of his intention to fight at 170 and called out Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira.
However, in light of the incidents above, a fight against Nurmagomedov, if he returns, would probably make for a more exciting watch. Yes, Diaz would probably lose but the prospect of two guys who hate each other so much going up against each other inside the octagon is quite tasty.
Diaz last fought at UFC 244 and is yet to return since that loss to Jorge Masvidal. Nevertheless, he vows to be way more active this year and has already gotten a response from ‘The Diamond’ with regards to a fight at welterweight.
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