Former UFC star Nate Diaz surrendered to the New Orleans Police Department Sixth District station on Thursday after being involved in a physical altercation outside a local bar on April 21. Diaz was in New Orleans to watch his friend Chris Avila fight Paul Bamba at Misfits Boxing 6. He has been since released after posting a $10,000 bond.
“Bond has been granted and posted with the full permission from the court to resume travel which includes returning to Stockton today,” said Zach Rosenfield, Diaz’s lawyer. “We appreciate how we were treated by the New Orleans Police Department, the court and their staff.”
According to police spokesperson Karen Boudrie, a warrant for Diaz’s arrest was issued on Monday, and the fighter was charged with second-offense battery. This felony offense carries a maximum sentence of eight years in jail and a fine of up to $2,000 in Louisiana.
Boudrie explained that Diaz had appeared in a video choking out social media influencer Rodney Petersen in a brawl. Petersen, who has experience as a professional boxer with a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and amateur MMA, was allegedly rendered unconscious and fell to the ground after Diaz purportedly used his knee and put him in a chokehold.
Rosenfield claimed that his client had acted in self-defense and was eager to provide the District Attorney with all the details surrounding the incident.
“Nate’s attorney looks forward to presenting all of the facts about this incident to the District Attorney which clearly demonstrates 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,” said Rosenfield.
Currently a free agent, Diaz is scheduled to face YouTuber-turned-fighter Jake Paul on August 5 in Dallas.
Paul on Diaz’s altercation
After Diaz turned himself in, Paul used his Instagram stories to advocate for his upcoming opponent’s release. Paul shared a snapshot of a tweet from a fan account of Most Value Productions, his promotor, which announced that Diaz had surrendered to the authorities. Paul wrote, “Free big bro @natediaz209.”
He later uploaded a photograph depicting a small portion of his face, with a tear emoji emerging from the edge of his eye. Accompanied by this, he wrote, “They locked my homie up @natediaz209.”
Paul’s upcoming fight against Diaz is in doubt following the fighter’s recent legal troubles. The American mixed martial artist hinted at the possibility of pulling out of the fight following the warrant for his arrest.
In response, KSI, who has fought Jake’s brother Logan Paul before, offered to replace Diaz. The former UFC star was open to this route, saying that the two social media personalities should fight each other instead.
“Lol why Dont u [two] scared p****s just fight each other August, I’ll fight someone who can really fight,” Diaz tweeted.
Paul accepted KSI as a backup opponent and confirmed they would fight at 185 pounds without rehydration clauses. Diaz has yet to address the incident publicly, leaving his future in the fight up in the air.