MMA fighter Nate Diaz turns himself in after New Orleans street brawl
Mixed martial arts fighter Nate Diaz turned himself in to police in New Orleans on Thursday to face a battery charge arising from a weekend street brawl.
The 38-year-old surrendered after video spread on social media of Diaz apparently choking YouTube personality Rodney Petersen unconscious during a fight in the city’s popular Bourbon Street. In the video, Petersen can be seen confronting Diaz as people fight around them. Diaz then gets Petersen into a chokehold before letting him drop to the ground, apparently unconscious. Police said Petersen was found “bleeding from the rear of his head”.
Diaz went to police with his attorney on Thursday and turned himself in, a police news release said. His attorney, Walter Becker, has told New Orleans news outlets Diaz acted in self-defense.
Becker said in a statement that Diaz “looks forward to presenting all of the facts about this incident to the District Attorney which clearly demonstrate that a trained fighter named
Rodney Petersen aggressively pursued Nate with the intention of engaging him and once doing so, Nate acted entirely in self-defense.”
Petersen has a 1-0 record as a professional boxer, and has fought in amateur MMA bouts.
Diaz posted bond and was cleared to return home to Stockton, California, Zach Rosenfield, Diaz’s public relations representative, said.
“We appreciate how we were treated by the New Orleans Police Department, the court and their staff,” Rosenfield said in an email.
Diaz has been one of the most popular fighters in MMA since 2016, when he split two high-profile bouts with Conor McGregor.
Diaz and his older brother, former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz, are well-known for their brash fighting style, strict training standards, embrace of marijuana culture and an anti-authoritarian attitude that appeals greatly to MMA fans.
Nate Diaz has fought for the UFC since 2007, but he is a promotional free agent after completing his UFC contract last year with a submission of Tony Ferguson. Diaz has said he would be open to returning to the UFC in the future, but he also launched his own combat sports promotion, Real Fight Inc, last year.
Diaz is also following the path of many MMA stars by moving to the boxing ring, where paydays are often larger than in the UFC. He is scheduled to fight YouTube star Jake Paul in August in an eight-round boxing match in Dallas.