Perpetual fan favorite Nick Diaz is known for his wild antics inside and outside of the cage, but it has been several years since the Stockton native provoked an all-out brawl.

That changed at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas late last year when Diaz hurled his drink at the UFC’s number two ranked lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov. The thrown drink led to punches being thrown and members from both the Diaz and Nurmagomedov camps being restrained and removed by security at the World Series of Fighting event at which they were present. Nick Diaz and his brother Nate were at the event in support of their long-time team mate Jake Shields, while Khabib Nurmagomedov was there to corner his brother Abubakar who also fought on the card.

Khabib Nurmagomedov spoke on the scuffle in an interview with MMAjunkie:

You know, fights happen between men. It’s OK. It’s normal. Sometimes it happens. But you know what? I’m a professional fighter. I’m a UFC fighter. I’m here at a very big show in Las Vegas. Lot of people here. Lot of women here. Lot of kids here.

And I can’t fight. I can’t fight. And these guys are beginning to go like crazy with me. But I said, ‘Khabib, you need to stay (calm).’

However, according to Nurmagomedov, who’s on the mend following knee surgery, the Diaz brothers kept taunting him and trying to goad him into a fight.

When he began the second time, I went crazy too. he said. … I have to protect myself.

Nurmagomedov has had a long-running feud with Nate Diaz but suggested a brawl is no big deal – at least among professional cage fighters.

It’s OK, he said. This happened between a few men, a few fighters. In the gym, a lot of times that happens.

But I know I’m talking about this too much, but for me, it’s normal. For me, it’s normal. But I know I’m a professional fighter. I’m a UFC fighter. I cannot fight when there are a lot of people here. But when somebody begins fighting with me, I need to protect myself.

source: mmajunkie.com