Abdelaziz: UFC should book Diaz vs. Nurmagomedov after WSOF 22 brawl

WSOF 22 may well be a card that lives on in the minds of MMA fans more for a set of controversies than a card which saw a pair of successful title defenses.

Rousimar Palhares’ decision to yet again crank a submission after his opponent tapped – and seemingly repeatedly gouging the eyes of Jake Shields during the bout – was the main topic of conversation after the card. WSOF’s Ali Abdelaziz said that Palhares had his win bonus withheld by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and could be stripped of his WSOF welterweight title as a result.

The night’s other wild situation involved Nick Diaz and brother Nate Diaz as their camp clashed with the camp of Khabib Nurmagomedov outside the cage.

The two camps exchanged words, punches were thrown – as were bottles – before the situation cooled off and the Diaz brothers were escorted out of Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

MMAjunkie was on hand and caught video of the brawl:

After the event, Abdelaziz addressed the situation.

“I thought they crossed paths and they talked before on Twitter,” Abdelaziz told MMAjunkie. “I know that for sure because I know both guys. I guess they had a talk and I think Nick took a swing – that’s what people saw, I didn’t see it. And, after that, Nate came down and I tried to slow him down too and I saw someone threw a beer bottle from Nate’s camp. I don’t know who threw the beer bottle.

“It was 12 Russian guys. And I told them to sit down and they all listened to me. There was only three of them (in the Diaz camp). If I let them loose someone could have been injured, someone could have been hurt. I’m disappointed and these guys, you know, they’re professional fighters. They’re professional athletes and they shouldn’t be fighting outside of the cage. A lot of kids look up to them. A lot of young people look up to them. Every time you turn around it seems like Nick and Nate are arguing with somebody. I know Khabib very good, I’m very close to him. I really like Nate. And I don’t want to see two guys fighting. At the end of the day they’re men and I don’t know how the UFC is going to feel about it. But let these guys fight. Book them and let them fight.”

For more on WSOF 22, check out the MMA Events section of the site.

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