Full Send reporter Shawny Mack has commented about being slapped by Nate Diaz backstage at UFC 276.
A video of the UFC welterweight slapping Mack has quickly gone viral on social media. Mack, who was covering UFC 276 for the Full Send podcast, started interviewing Diaz just before the main card got underway, asking him whether he was rooting for Sean O’Malley.
Diaz, however, quickly changed the subject to a far more serious matter.
“Nah. And you better watch your tweets about my dude who was fighting recently,” said Diaz.
Seconds later, Nate knocked the mic from the stunned reporter’s hand, before unleashing a trademark Stockton slap that caused his cap to fly across the room.
Shawny Mack Breaks Silence After Being Stockton Slapped
According to reports on social media, it’s believed that Diaz’s slap was prompted by derogatory remarks made by Mack about his training partner, UFC middleweight Nick Maximov.
Monday, Mack took to Instagram to have a good laugh at the situation, meme-referencing this year’s #SlapGate incident between Will Smith and Chris Rock at the Oscars.
“Some of y’all forget I started out as a meme page. I knew what I was getting into when I signed up for it. Never been one to shy away from putting my opinion out there. My first weekend on the job and I got Stockton slapped 👋. What a ride we’re on 😂 🎢.,” Mack wrote.
This isn’t the first viral moment Diaz has been involved in recently. In May, the 37-year-old tweeted a photo of himself urinating on the front lawn of the UFC Performance Institute, in defiant protest of his treatment by the promotion.
For the last few months, Nate has consistently pleaded for a release from his UFC contract, citing, among other things, the promotion’s inability to find him an opponent. Diaz still has one fight remaining on his current deal, however he now seems to have set his sights on a boxing showdown with Jake Paul.
What’s your reaction to Nick Diaz slapping a Full Send reporter at UFC 276?