Things got ugly backstage during the Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva event between members of Paul’s team and the deep rolling squad of Nate Diaz.
On Saturday, video emerged of Diaz open-hand slapping a member of Paul’s entourage following Chris Avila’s decision win over YouTube star Dr. Mike. Earlier this week, InsideFighting released a video to YouTube showing a closer up version of the skirmish between both camps that featured Diaz, Avila, and fellow UFC veteran Nick Maximov.
You can watch the two-minute plus video above.
At one point, a member of Paul’s security team calls out members of Diaz’s team. As the video continues, he warns Diaz’s team to “throw it again” as he charges forward. Seconds later, the bodyguard is drilled with a plastic cup full of beer, which nearly leads to things getting even crazier.
Near the end of the video, one camera man says the cops are coming.
Diaz’s fighting future remains unclear following his submission win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 card in the final bout of the popular fighter’s UFC contract. Prior to the September pay-per-view event, his team got into a skirmish with headliner Khamzat Chimaev, leading to water bottles being thrown backstage before a press conference. The UFC subsequently cancelled the event, and the Nevada Athletic Commission is investigating.
Diaz and his team also exchanged cans and bottles with Conor McGregor at a press conference for UFC 202, leading that event to be ended early. Both were fined, and McGregor was later the target of a lawsuit.
As for Paul, he went on to defeat Silva via unanimous decision and then proceeded to call out Diaz for a future matchup.
