Islam Makhachev and Nate Diaz were captured hurling water bottles at one another backstage following yesterday’s (Dec. 6) UFC 311 press conference. Makhachev will headline the pay-per-view card against title challenger Arman Tsarukyuan, and the promotion held a media scrum as part of the build-up.

Diaz, who will not feature at UFC 311 on Jan. 18, was in Las Vegas to attend UFC 310, which takes place on Dec. 7. A longtime friend and teammate of the Stockton native, Kron Gracie, will make his return to the octagon against Bryce Mitchell on the main card of the pay-per-view event.

Dustin Poirier, a former opponent of Makhachev and a near-opponent of Diaz, came across the footage of the backstage incident online. ‘The Diamond’ shared a short reaction, but his post left little doubt in the minds of fans about his desire to face Diaz in the octagon.

With the former interim lightweight champion having recently indicated that he will almost certainly only fight once more, a clash with someone of the profile of Diaz would be exactly what ‘The Diamond’ had hoped for.

Dana White tells Islam Makhachev he looks “f**king big” during backstage interaction
Islam Makhachev was in Las Vegas on Dec. 6 to attend the UFC 311 pre-fight press conference. He will headline the card alongside former opponent Arman Tsarukyan, with the pair set to clash in a rematch for lightweight gold.

The co-main event of the evening will see Makhachev’s close friend and teammate, Umar Nurmagomedov, challenge Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title.

A brief exchange between the 155-pound champion and UFC CEO Dana White was captured by ESPN MMA, where White could be heard saying this:

“Good to see you, thanks for coming out. How you feeling? You’re looking f**king big, man!”

With Makhachev and Nurmagomedov featuring in back-to-back fights, Khabib Nurmagomedov, who will be in both fighters’ corners, will have a busy night ahead of him.

So much so that the lightweight champion admitted during the UFC 311 pre-fight press conference that he will likely feel sorry for ‘The Eagle’ on fight night due to the demands of cornering two fights in a row.