UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has shared insights about a tense encounter involving Nate Diaz and a member of his team during filming of a Russian mixed martial arts reality show in Thailand.
Jones, who serves as a captain on the Russian version of “The Ultimate Fighter,” described how a situation quickly escalated when one of his young fighters attempted to engage in playful sparring with Diaz.
“We had one of our young fighters, a guy named Zadik, he was playing with Nate,” Jones explained to Red Corner MMA. “You know, he wanted to play fight with Nate, and Nate kind of came in a little bit on edge.”
According to Jones, Diaz may have arrived with some preexisting tensions. “I think he had some previous beef with some Russian fighters, so he was a little bit on edge when he got here,” Jones noted.
The heavyweight champion acknowledged that initiating casual contact with Diaz proved problematic. “Play fighting with Nate was not the best idea. It got serious right away, and we had to replace Nate,” Jones revealed.
The former light heavyweight king also reflected on the cultural differences he’s observed during filming. “I’ve been around the Bushido spirit for a long time. And that martial arts spirit where everybody have a certain degree of certain rules you don’t cross, like a martial arts spirit and everything. I don’t think there’s a lot of that here,” Jones commented.
He further distinguished between the competitors’ approaches to martial arts: “Some guys are like warriors, and some guys are really just kind of street fighters, you know? There’s insults, there’s weapons. This show is like, there’s nothing like it. There’s really nothing like it.”
While details about potential consequences for either party remain unclear, the situation offers fans a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes dynamics of international MMA productions.
