Nate Diaz has left Jake Paul scratching his head after he prematurely left a pre-fight face-to-face.
Combat Sports reporter Ariel Helwani has shared footage of the two fighters participating in some pre-fight media duties, although it seems Diaz wasn’t having a bar of it.
The footage shows Helwani playing host to the confrontation between the pair ahead of their bout this weekend.
Paul can be heard commending his opponent, praising him as a ‘warrior’ and talking about his MMA career.
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As that’s going on the former UFC star can be seen looking quite disinterested in everything that’s going on, failing to make any eye contact with the influencer.
The MMA fighter looks quite agitated while sitting, failing to remain still as he’s looking in many different directions.
Then, inexplicably, Diaz rises casually from his chair and proceeds to make his way off the stage while Paul is still mid-sentence.
Both Helwani and Paul look perplexed as Diaz makes his way out of the shot, letting the two know that he’ll ‘be right back’.
Footage later cuts to Diaz jumping into a car and leaving the face-to-face entirely.
Fans were quick to comment on the incident, with many believing this was typical Nate Diaz mind games - with his disinterest in the fight the best way to go about facing the controversial boxing influencer.
Sports reporter Wade Plem said: “Welp.. This is classic Nate.”
Another fan wrote: “Oh my god Nate is the best.
“This is the absolute best approach to the lead up to a Jake fight. Get your money, don’t do anything to help him get PPV points. God Bless Nate Diaz!”
A third commented: “I know Jake’s gotta be sick with how little Nate’s selling the fight lmaoo.”'
Meanwhile, others showed some concern for Nate’s mental state.
One fan said: “Sadly this looks like it is anxiety.”
Another wrote: “Nate looked anxious with the hand gestures. The edibles hit too hard.”
A third added: “Nate always looks uncomfortable in any setting, you’d think somebody is out to get him here.”
Nate has yet to offer up an explanation for his premature departure, but hopefully, we’ll get a bit more of an idea when the full video comes out.
The two will square off on August 5, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
Jayden Collins