After Jake Shields’ defended his middleweight crown in the Strikeforce “Nashville” main event at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., a melee ensued when Jason Miller entered the cage and interrupted the champion’s post-fight interview to ask for a rematch. Shields then pushed Miller, and “Mayhem” was attacked by Nate Diaz, Nick Diaz, Gilbert Melendez and other Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu members in the cage.
“Sometimes these things happen in MMA,” announcer Gus Johnson said. “A lot of testosterone in the cage. Gentlemen, we’re on national television.”
CBS cut to a commercial during the incident and would ultimately not air another Strikeforce event on the network. At a time when mixed martial arts was still in the process of acquiring mainstream acceptance, the brawl was a black eye for the sport. On the eight-year anniversary of that incident, Nate Diaz reflected on the altercation while comparing it to the recent bus attack led by Conor McGregor and his entourage ahead of UFC 223.
“This what they were trying to act like they were doing [in] NYC but no one’s for real in this sport,” Diaz wrote. ‘Were the last of our kind. It's a new day [and] age, ride or die. We started this G s—t #yallcantfuckwitus #theteam #riders.”
Two days before UFC 223 earlier this month, McGregor’s attack on a bus carrying fighters and injuries resulted in multiple injuries to those on board and forced the cancellation of two bouts. The Irishman was later arrested and charged with three counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of felony mischief. The incident seemed to stem from an altercation earlier in the week when Khabib Nurmagomedov confronted Artem Lobov, McGregor’s teammate, at the fighter hotel.
Diaz poked fun at both McGregor and Nurmagomedov at the time of the drama, but his latest post seems to take pride that his group of training partners were the originators of a similar type of mayhem. Diaz, who has not fought since losing to McGregor in August 2016, does not currently have a fight booked with the UFC.