UFC alum Nate Diaz exited a Russian reality show after a multi-man melee broke out on set. The incident happened in Thailand, where Diaz and UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones were filming.
Diaz and Jones signed on as coaches for a show inspired by “The Ultimate Fighter.” A huge brawl broke out early into production, reportedly spurring Diaz’s departure from the set. Sources confirmed Diaz’s exit to MMA Fighting, though his team was unavailable for comment. Jake Shields, a former UFC welterweight title challenger and Diaz’s friend, was present during the incident. Shields uploaded a video of the brawl to his YouTube channel and detailed what happened.
In the video, an unnamed fighter respectfully approached Jones before getting into a verbal altercation with Diaz. According to Shields, Diaz slapped the fighter after he seemingly attempted to grab Diaz. Things escalated after someone from Diaz’s team punched the fighter. Multiple parties intervened; however, the unnamed fighter allegedly re-entered the house numerous times.
Shields said he tackled the fighter to the ground as the situation intensified. Multiple individuals allegedly attacked Shields in retaliation.
“Right when I started to go off on him, I got just blitzed from the side,” Shields said. “Not where the fighters were, a couple of guys just started blitzing me, which to me seemed like they were crew working there, not fighters, because the fighters were in the chairs. To me, it was very clear that it was the staff and the workers. That was one of those moments where I had better diffuse the situation.”
Shields said that Diaz’s team left the filming location after the incident. While the production team tried to bring Diaz back, his team declined and flew home to California.
“Why are we going to go back and film a show?” Shields asked. “It’s one thing to be fighting the fighters, that’s why I went out there with Nate, I thought it was a possibility some of these fighters will try to test him — but when you have potentially the crew hitting you, too it’s like no, f— that.”
Diaz, 40, has a history of getting into scuffles. Brothers Nate Diaz and Nick Diaz, and Shields, were involved in the infamous 2010 Strikeforce: Nashville brawl. In 2022, Diaz was removed from the building after a backstage altercation during the Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva card.
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