Nate Diaz spokesperson denies report that fighter was hospitalized after skirmish with cops

Early on Wednesday, a report from from the Miami Herald — which seems to have been deleted — stated that UFC welterweight contender Nate Diaz was hospitalized after attacking police officers during an arrest in Miami.

“It took quite a few officers to hold him down,” Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina allegedly told the Miami Herald, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

According to multiple reports from ESPN, however, this story from the Miami Herald was inaccurate.

Regarding the Nate Diaz Miami Herald story that just came out. This is from Diaz’s representative Zach Rosenfield:

“This story is absolutely not accurate. Nate has been home from the Super Bowl for over a week. This is not him. This is story is completely wrong.” /cont’d

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 12, 2020

“Nate has been in Stockton since the Tuesday after the Super Bowl and at no point did he have any interactions with Miami law enforcement. Zero issues whatsoever. And he has never been attached to anything close to domestic violence in his life.”

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 12, 2020

“This story is absolutely not accurate,” Zach Rosenfield, a representative for Nate Diaz, told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. “Nate has been home from the Super Bowl for over a week. This is not him. This is story is completely wrong.

“Nate has been in Stockton since the Tuesday after the Super Bowl and at no point did he have any interactions with Miami law enforcement. Zero issues whatsoever. And he has never been attached to anything close to domestic violence in his life.”

ESPN reporter Marc Raimondi also followed up on this Diaz story with a spokesperson for the Miami police. Contrary to the quote allegedly obtained by the Miami Herald, this spokesperson claimed the report from the newspaper is “erroneous.”

To piggyback on this, a Miami police spokesperson tells me that Miami Herald story about Nate Diaz was “erroneous." https://t.co/MfPHVaT10r

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) February 12, 2020

It’s not clear what sparked this rumor, or why the Miami Herald allowed it to be published, but the publication’s choice to delete the original report seems to confirm its falsity.

Nate Diaz has not fought since November, when he was defeated by Jorge Masvidal via doctor stoppage in the UFC’s first and only BMF title fight. At present, it’s not clear what the fighter’s future holds, though he’s recently been linked to a welterweight fight with fellow fan favorite Dustin Poirier. 

Stay tuned for more details on this bizarre Nate Diaz story as details emerge.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/12/2020.