26 April 2023 , 10:53
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UFC legend Nate Diaz's upcoming fight with Jake Paul is going ahead as planned, with the YouTube star set to face-off with his rival for the first time next week.
The duo's bout was cast into doubt when an arrest warrant was issued against Diaz earlier this week after he was charged with second-degree battery for an incident on Friday night in New Orleans. Diaz, 38, is wanted by New Orleans police for his involvement in a street fight with Rodney Petersen, 34, who is famous for being a lookalike of Paul's older brother Logan.
Diaz will travel to Dallas to meet Paul at the site of their August 5 bout next Tuesday where the pair will take part in a press conference and go head-to-head for the first time since the bout was announced. It is believed to be the first of a series of media events for the bout, which is expected to go ahead despite the former cage fighter's arrest warrant.
Nate Diaz was filmed choking Rodney Petersen unconscious in a street fight
An arrest warrant has since been issued for Diaz by New Orleans policeKaren A Boudrie, a spokesperson for the New Orleans Police Department, confirmed a warrant has been issued for Diaz's arrest as she told MMA Fighting : “There has been an arrest warrant issued — he is not in custody,” she said. Diaz's spokesperson Zach Rosenfield has said that Diaz's attorney has been in touch with authorities in New Orleans.
“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,” Rosenfield said in a statement issued to multiple media outlets yesterday evening.
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“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-defense. No further comment will be made at this time.”
Paul and Diaz announced their fight earlier this month for August 5, with the bout set to air on DAZN PPV from the American Airlines Center; home to the Dallas Mavericks. The YouTube star is looking to bounce back from his first loss against Tommy Fury back in February, while his UFC fighter rival is making his professional boxing debut after leaving the MMA promotion in September.
But Diaz could face jail time for his involvement in the incident in New Orleans that may leave the bout in jeopardy. Second-degree battery is a felony in the state of Louisiana that is punishable by up to eight years in prison. Should such a cancellation happen, Paul's original YouTube boxing rival KSI has offered to step in as a replacement.
The UFC legend has since told Paul to go ahead with the KSI bout in a tweet that read: "Lol why Dont u [two] scared p****s just fight each other August, I’ll fight someone who can really fight." Paul accepted KSI's offer to be the backup opponent, thanking his rival for being "so humble and committed".