Video: Jake Paul, Nate Diaz teams get into ugly brawl following heated press conference
Jake Paul and Nate Diaz avoided throwing punches at one another, but the same can’t be said for their teams.
Following a spirited press conference that saw the fighters trade expletives in a back-and-forth war of words, Paul and Diaz faced off in front of the Dallas crowd without any altercation breaking out. It wasn’t until the fighters separated that tensions finally boiled over, but it wasn’t between the two men involved in the main event on Saturday night.
Instead, some pushing and shoving between security guards and teams representing Paul and Diaz led to punches being thrown and mayhem breaking out on stage. The scene erupted with Paul and Diaz out of the way as the melee saw numerous people involved, although the security guards not throwing punches were quick to separate the two sides before the incident truly exploded.
During the press conference, Diaz addressed a member of Paul’s security team, who he apparently had an altercation with in the past. It’s unclear if that particular security guard was involved in the brawl afterwards.
“You know who the bully is? That bouncer right there who I smacked with a beer the last time he thought he was tight,” Diaz shouted. “I f******* smacked that b**** in the face.
“That’s who the bully is. F*** him, f*** you, and f*** MVP.”
That response put a smile on Paul’s face as he tried to goad Diaz into an exchange after he continued touting his offer for a rematch in MMA after their boxing match on Saturday.
“Let’s go. I like it,” Paul said. “Nate’s alive. We woke the beast up. Let’s go Nate. I like it. Talk your s***, Nate. Talk your s***.”
While the scene at the pre-fight press conference turned ugly for a few moments, Diaz didn’t seem rattled by the affair, especially considering he’s seen far worse during his career. It’s hard to forgot Diaz and his team launching water bottles at Conor McGregor back in 2016, which led to the Irish superstar firing back with full soda cans during a melee at the MGM in Las Vegas.
This time around, Diaz didn’t seem all that bothered by the brawl between his entourage and Paul’s team.
“There’s no need to get disrespectful and talk a bunch of s***,” Diaz said during the broadcast. “I’m a competitor here. He’s a little f***** and that’s what I’m dealing with and that’s what I’m going to deal with. Whatever comes with it, I signed up from the start for a full blown war. I’m good with it.”