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There are many lessons the world of martial arts can teach us. For example, it’s never a good idea to ask Ilia Topuria to punch you in the stomach as hard as possible. Or, try to avoid grappling with Demetrious Johnson. He did win a fight by suplexing a man into an armbar, after all.
That being said, there is one lesson I never realized would become so important or so prevalent: always stay hydrated.
Seriously, what is up with Nate Diaz and water bottles? He threw a water bottle at Conor McGregor at the UFC 202 press conference and he threw water bottles at Khamzat Chimaev (or who he thought was Khamzat) before the UFC 279 presser that got canceled.
And now, this past weekend, he got into it with Chase DeMoor, a cast member on Netflix’s Too Hot to Handle, throwing a water bottle at him during a confrontation at an influencer boxing event.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think Bruce Lee, when he famously said to “Be water,” intended for it to be taken in such a literal way.
And that wasn’t the extent of Nate’s stay in New Orleans last Friday. He was there to attend MF & DAZN: X Series 006, an event that featured 3-time NFL Pro Bowler Le’veon Bell defeating a YouTuber, to support his teammate Chris Avila. After the event (and after the incident with DeMoor) video was captured of Nate getting into a scuffle with an influencer named Rodney Petersen.
Petersen shares a resemblance to Logan Paul, brother of Jake Paul, who Nate Diaz is scheduled to fight in a blockbuster boxing headliner on August 5. While we don’t know for certain that the resemblance is what caused the fight to start, we know that it ended when Nate wrapped up a standing guillotine and dropped Petersen’s unconscious body in a Bourbon Street gutter.
Nate Diaz did what in New Orleans?
The video makes for a pretty chaotic scene but Nate seems to have a way of creating chaos wherever he goes, doesn’t he? He was part of Strikeforce’s infamous Nashville Brawl back in 2010. He slapped Khabib Nurmagomedov at a World Series of Fighting show back in 2015 in a moment he later said he regretted.
He made a future Power Slapper spill his beer at the Jake Paul/Tyron Woodley rematch. There’s no end to what the man is capable of.
And that’s exactly why he keeps doing it: because he can, because it’s what he’s known for.
It’s what both Nate Diaz and his brother Nick are known for. They live the life of the “fighter,” where they don’t compete in martial arts for glory and legacy and championships (unless that championship happens to be handed to you by Dwayne Johnson).
Their whole thing is that you don’t fight as a career. You fight to live. You fight for survival. You fight because it’s what you’ve been doing since you Stockton slapped your way out of your mother’s womb. And then probably slapped the doctor too because he was looking at your Mom like a bitch.
This is the Skrap Pack philosophy and it’s one that has served the brothers and the members of their camp very well. It’s worked because, as silly as it can seem to still act like it’s you against the world when you’ve made millions of dollars from fighting and every word that escapes your mouth and/or fingers becomes a headline and you can do things like start your own fight promotion whenever you want, he does it in a way that feels genuine.
We’ve had fighters who come across as overly righteous but act in a completely different manner when they aren’t on the clock. We’ve had fighters who fashion their careers off of pro wrestlers and look like they spend hours talking to themselves in front of the mirror before they place themselves in front of a microphone.
Nate Diaz isn’t like that. He says he’s about this life and we believe it because his actions prove that he isn’t lying.
This is who Nate Diaz is
Nate Diaz has always been well-liked by the UFC faithful, from his promotional introduction in 2007 by winning the 5th season of The Ultimate Fighter to his two main events against McGregor, both of which surpassed one million Payperview buys and are on the short list of the most profitable events in UFC history, to Nate’s last UFC fight at UFC 279.
That was an event that was initially set up to bury the Pride of the 209 but, after some last minute shuffling due to Chimaev coming in overweight, turned into a celebration of the younger Diaz, giving him a fun match-up against Tony Ferguson that allowed him to shine on his way out, even getting the chance to flex for the crowd in a moment reminiscent of the classic ending to his fight against Kurt Pellegrino from early in his UFC tenure. It was a perfect bookend to a tumultuous relationship that propelled Nate forward into the world of boxing and the big showdown with Paul.
This issue with the Logan lookalike does little to slow that momentum down. Even if the New Orleans Police Department issued a warrant for Nate Diaz’s arrest, he is handling it appropriately, voluntarily turning himself in and cooperating completely with police.
The big question in light of these developments is whether Nate Diaz could go to jail over this or if this could put the fight with Paul in jeopardy.
Anything is possible but the answer to both of those questions is most likely no.
Nate Diaz is innocent?
Nate is claiming his actions were performed in self defense and, while the first video that came out didn’t provide much context for what led to Petersen being choked unconscious, additional video came out that showed the lead up to the confrontation, where it looked like the fighting may have started elsewhere and may have been instigated by someone other than Nate. These additional events provide support to Nate’s claims and could lead to the counts of second-degree battery, a charge that could result in an 8-year prison sentence, being dropped.
We know this is a possibility because it’s happened before. In February 2021, Spencer Jones, a wide receiver for Oklahoma University, was attacked and badly injured by two brothers widely noted as having MMA training, Walker and Braden Brown. Video evidence showed the brothers were defending themselves in a situation that was instigated by Jones and his crew. The Norman Police Department investigated, and The Cleveland County District Attorney ultimately chose to not press charges, declaring the incident a “mutual combat situation.”
A “mutual combat situation”? Sounds like the definition of a Diaz brother brawl, doesn’t it?
Of course, even if criminal charges don’t go forward, there’s always the possibility the victim files a personal injury lawsuit, like the guy who was knocked out by former Diaz training partner Joe Schilling, (notice that Schilling also claimed “self defense”).
Petersen might be the kind of guy to pursue legal action but he might not be. He’s vowed revenge but more in the sense of a threat of physical retaliation than trying to get his hands on any of Nate’s CBD money.
Doesn’t mean it can’t happen. I mean, Colby Convington pressed charges against Jorge Masvidal when the only significant strike Mas was able to land in their UFC 272 clash came three weeks later outside an upscale steakhouse in Miami Beach.
Still, if Petersen does sue, he’s not guaranteed to win. And if he does have a case, the case would likely get settled before ever going to trial.
For Nate, it’d just be the price of doing business. And right now, business is good.
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