Watch: When Nate Diaz claimed he slapped Khabib Nurmagomedov for "picking" on him
Nate Diaz claimed he once "slapped" Khabib Nurmagomedov when they crossed paths at a World Series of Fighting event in 2015.
In a video that went viral on social media, the Stockton native was seen squaring up against Nurmagomedov's manager Ali Abdelaziz before an argument ensued. Tensions flared when Diaz's older brother Nick Diaz threw a bottle of beer at 'The Eagle' and his team, which instigated a brawl.
The incident led to the Diaz brothers receiving lifetime bans from all World Series of Fighting events due to their misconduct.
Nate Diaz gets into a fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov:
Diaz previously spoke about his version of events during an interview with ESPN. According to the UFC superstar, Nurmagomedov was the instigator in the altercation. He recalled:
"I’m not into this bully s***, he’s [Khabib Nurmagomedov] into bullying and stuff, that’s his thing. When I ran into him and his team, they were taking a group picture because I was standing there watching Jake [Shields], my friend, fight."
He added:
"And they took a group picture with me behind them, just to laugh at me, make fun of me. And then I'm watching my friend walk out, trying to watch his fight, and [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 says Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team did nothing after slap incident
Nate Diaz reminded Khabib Nurmagomedov of their scuffle during a back-and-forth on social media. Diaz claimed that Nurmagomedov and his entourage "didn't do s***" when he dished out his signature Stockton slap on 'The Eagle.' On Twitter, Diaz wrote:
"I slapped you in your head you and your team didn’t do s*** ... Live with that ur all p***ies"
@TeamKhabib I slapped you in your head you and your team didn’t do shit ...
Live with that ur all pussies
In response, Nurmagomedov claimed that Diaz ran away like a coward during the brawl. The Dagestani shared footage of the chaos that ensued after the melee, but it's hard to tell what's taking place in the video.
The former UFC lightweight champion tweeted:
"[Nate Diaz] You was hiding behind security and ran away coward, it’s clear on the video. We just smashed your team that night you punk"
@NateDiaz209 You was hiding behind security and ran away coward, it’s clear on the video. We just smashed your team that night you punk https://t.co/xvJoO8thxo
This isn't the first time Diaz and Nurmagomedov have engaged in an altercation. While in attendance at UFC 239, the two UFC stars got into it after the Stockton native seemingly said something to Ali Abdelaziz.
You can watch their altercation at UFC 239 below: