Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will meet in a boxing ring on July 6, but tensions boiled over a full month before. Masvidal was physically involved in a pull-apart brawl between the two fighters' camps during a press conference in Anaheim on Thursday.
Diaz and Masvidal were in town promoting their upcoming fight at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Diaz was noticeably frustrated on the latest stop of their multi-city press tour in April.
"I'm done with this whole press conference shit," Diaz said. "I'm glad we're here promoting these great fights that are happening but, besides that, my work here is done."
Diaz attempted to walk off but organizers wrangled him back for an attempted faceoff. The Stockton fighter flexed for the cameras and left before Masvidal could meet him in the middle. A verbal altercation between the two escalated as members from both teams surged forward.
Talk gave way to violence after Masvidal smacked the hand of Diaz's teammate. The man -- sporting blonde dreadlocks and a cap -- retaliated by throwing a punch at Masvidal. A melee broke out between Diaz's teammate and Masvidal's boxing coach Jorge Capetillo. Video of the incident shows Masvidal yanking Diaz's stablemate by the hair before security intervened.
It does not appear that Diaz took part in the brawl but he and his camp attempted to track down Masvidal's team later in a hallway. Security managed to keep the two sides apart.
"Your coach got knocked out!" Nate Diaz's protege Chris Avila yelled across the hall.
Diaz and Masvidal will box on July 6 in a spiritual successor to their headlining fight at Madison Square Garden in 2019. Masvidal won the fight via third-round doctor stoppage and was crowned the inaugural ceremonial BMF champion. Their boxing match was originally scheduled for June 1, but was pushed back one month to not intersect with UFC 302 the same day.
