Did Nate Diaz really slap Khabib Nurmagomedov outside the Octagon?
It is quite well-known that there is no love lost between UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Nate Diaz. Even though the two have not met in the octagon, the dislike they have for each other is quite evident from their occasional social media interaction.
Most recently, Nate Diaz reacted to Dana White's announcement on Khabib Nurmagomedov's decision with a one-liner on Twitter in his usual, carefree style.
See the tweet here.
However, not all their altercations till date have taken place virtually. On two different occasions, Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov have been involved in a brawl outside the octagon, and in one of the incidents, Nate Diaz claims he slapped 'The Eagle' on the face.
Nate Diaz: I slapped him in the face for making fun of me
The first time the two came to blows was in 2015 at WSOF 22 that was taking place at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Khabib Nurmagomedov was there to corner his cousin brother Abubakar Nurmagomedov, who was fighting against the Diaz's longtime teammate and friend, Jake Shields.
According to what Nate Diaz told Ariel Helwani in a 2019 interview, it was Khabib who provoked him to land the first blow.
"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. [Khabib] is like, ‘Ah, come on, man’ and 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," Nate Diaz said.
"I was outside furious. So I waited for him to come out there and I went to get him again and he ran off."
Diaz also added that he should not have done that and that it was a reckless and stupid action on his part.
Khabib Nurmagomedov, however, remembers the incident differently. He shared video of the altercation on Twitter, claiming that it was Nate Diaz who escaped the fight and not him.
The next time they came face to face was at UFC 239, headlined by Jon Jones narrow split decision win over Thiago Santos. However, this time they were separated and the situation was de-escalated by the UFC officials before it could get out of hand.
Watch their UFC 239 interaction below: