26 April 2023 , 08:04
756
0
Nate Diaz's attorney has claimed the fighter acted in self-defence during his street brawl with Logan Paul lookalike Rodney Petersen.
Diaz, 38, is wanted by New Orleans police for his involvement in a street fight with Petersen, 34, last weekend. The UFC legend's lawyer Walter Becker has now confirmed Diaz's team has since been in touch with police regarding the arrest warrant. Diaz clashed with Petersen in the streets of New Orleans after his teammate Chris Avila's fight against Paul Bamba at Misfits Boxing 6.
Video footage of the scuffle appears to show Diaz choking Petersen unconscious while kneeing him to the stomach, before dropping him to the ground and walking away. Petersen, an amateur MMA fighter who is a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, claims he suffered a bloody head injury as a result of being dropped to the ground by Diaz.
Diaz’s representative Zach Rosenfield has now claimed that Petersen aggressively pursued in the scuffle with the "intention of engaging him", telling MMA Fighting: "Nate’s attorney Walter Becker can confirm that Nate has received word of the arrest warrant and Becker has been in contact with court authorities in New Orleans," he said.
“Nate’s attorney 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-defence. No further comment will be made at this time.”
Logan Paul and KSI announce new partnership with UFC president Dana White
Nate Diaz was filmed seemingly choking Rodney Petersen unconscious in a street fight
An arrest warrant has since been issued for Diaz by New Orleans policeDiaz is being charged with second-degree battery, a felony in the state of Louisiana that is punishable by up to eight years in prison. It's unclear if the incident will scupper Diaz's plans to compete against Jake Paul in his professional boxing debut on August 5, but Diaz has since hinted that he will pull out of the fight by telling Paul's rival KSI to fight him instead. "Lol why don't you [two] scared p****s just fight each other August, I’ll fight someone who can really fight," Diaz tweeted to the pair
KSI accepted to be Diaz's replacement opponent for the fight, tweeting: "Well, if that means Jake won’t have an opponent in August…Then I’ll gladly come as the replacement after I KO Joe Fournier in May." Paul then replied to the tweet: "Great. I accept you as the backup opponent. Fight is at 185. There are no rehydration clauses. Stay in shape and we will give you a call if needed. Thanks buddy for being so humble and committed."