Nate Diaz`s departure from a Russian reality television series led to a swarm of fighters chasing him down on motorcycles.
Former UFC superstar Nate Diaz`s time competing opposite Jon Jones on a The Ultimate Fighter spinoff in Thailand was short-lived, but extremely eventful. The show featured Jones and Diaz as coaches to train and mentor top fighters, mainly from Russia.
Diaz and his team ruffled many feathers upon their arrival, and several in-house brawls broke out between the Diaz and Jones teams before Diaz left the venue, sparking the abrupt show cancelation.
A longtime teammate of Diaz, Jake Shields, shared footage this week of what happened after Diaz`s departure.
Aftermath and Ongoing Tensions
Diaz has had a checkered past with Dagestani and Chechen fighters throughout his career, including incidents with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Khamzat Chimaev. Tensions remain high between Diaz and many top Russian MMA stars.
After Diaz, Shields, and their team left the show’s set, several Russian fighters reportedly followed them throughout the area on motorcycles for days.
During a recent podcast episode, Shields reacted to the aftermath footage and the pursuit.
“People have been sending me videos from Russian Instagram, TV and stuff supposedly of these Russian and Chechen fighters looking for us around Thailand,” Shields said. “The driver drove us to our hotel, they knew exactly where we were, we were in the same area for three, four days walking around going to the exact same places. Everyone knew where we were at, we were chillin’ where we were. They were just trying to act tough.”
Jones and Diaz`s Future Plans
Despite the show`s abrupt cancellation, Jon Jones reportedly remains in Thailand and is allegedly in talks to train with Alex Pereira. Jones has recently shifted his stance on potential retirement, and a clash with interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall remains on the UFC’s radar for later this year.
As for Diaz, he hasn’t fought in any discipline since defeating Jorge Masvidal in a boxing match last year. He has not ruled out a potential return to the Octagon, especially if a trilogy fight with Conor McGregor is a possibility.
Jack Thornley