Ah the Diaz brothers and their press conference shenanigans.
If there’s anything we’ve learned throughout the careers of both Nate and Nick Diaz is that they will, quite simply, do exactly as they please regardless of how many eyes are watching.
We saw that in full effect on Wednesday evening when the younger Diaz had had enough of the UFC 202 pre-fight press conference.
After former and upcoming opponent Conor McGregor showed up thirty minutes late to proceedings, Diaz arrived at the theory that he shouldn’t have to remain in his seat for the duration either.
This has got us hyped for #UFC202 https://t.co/grAsAbauUt
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) August 18, 2016
He upped and left his chair, joining his teammates as they left the David Copperfield Theatre at the MGM Grand and engaged in a firefight of cans and bottles with ‘The Notorious’.
After the fracas, Diaz’s boxing coach Richard Perez was asked about the altercation and he explained why his fighter opted to cut his appearance short, revealing that McGregor’s tardiness led to Diaz’s departure.
“I think he [McGregor] did that just to do it, you know, to try and get on Nathan’s nerves - but it didn’t happen,” Perez told Submission Radio. “What happened was, he came in late all cocky, started talking. So Nathan said ‘okay, he came late, I’m cutting, I’m booking.’ So McGregor didn’t like it and was speechless and caught him off guard and that made him mad.
“I thought [Nate] did the right thing, just to walk out and got on McGregor’s nerves. He didn’t like it. He didn’t know how to handle it. So he acted like a little kid and started throwing bottles - which he shouldn’t have, but Nathan got to him.”
Suggestions were made that the whole incident was staged as UFC 202 was in desperate need of an injection of hype ahead of Saturday night but Perez rejects that theory.
“It was a spontaneous thing,” Perez said. “It wasn’t planned at all. McGregor, I guess he thinks he’s the king and can come in when he wants. Nathan was sitting just there talking, he didn’t care. And then when he came in, then he just said, you know what, it’s my turn to leave.”
Read more
