A backstage altercation at UFC 310 involving Nate Diaz and Islam Makhachev‘s team turned into a water bottle fight, with UFC flyweight Brandon Royval witnessing that the first bottle was thrown by Tagir Ulanbekov from Makhachev’s team, not Diaz.
Nate Diaz found himself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons before UFC 310. A backstage water bottle skirmish with Islam Makhachev’s team put him there.
Though no fists were thrown, bottles flew after a press conference with Makhachev and his buddy Umar Nurmagomedov. Given Diaz’s history of tossing drinks, it’s no shock he got blamed. But one fighter backstage insists Diaz wasn’t at fault.
“A water bottle almost hit me while I was with [Nate] Diaz,” UFC flyweight Brandon Royval told MMA Fighting. “I’m thinking, ‘Who am I f*cking up?’ Diaz was ahead of me, and a bottle zooms by my head.”
“The first bottle was aimed at him,” Royval added. “I thought they were targeting me! Then I realized it was all about Diaz.”
Royval, set to fight Manel Kape on March 1, says Diaz likely doesn’t care about clearing his name. But he stands firm: Makhachev’s crew started it.
He even pinpointed the culprit when he almost got hit. Royval was ready for a showdown.
“I know who threw it,” Royval said. “That Russian flyweight kid [Tagir Ulanbekov]. It whizzed past my head.”
“Commotion everywhere, and that bottle flew by,” he recalled. “They aimed at [Diaz], but it was a lousy throw.”
Diaz is no stranger to confrontations outside the cage; he’s been in hot water before.
Royval knows Diaz probably doesn’t mind taking the blame for this latest incident.
“F*ck no, he doesn’t care to clear his name,” Royval stated about Diaz. “But truth is, he didn’t start it. I was walking right there with him.”
“Swear to God, Nate didn’t start that,” Royval insisted. “The video shows him throwing first, but another one came at him first. Almost hit me too!”