What happens when you throw Jon Jones and Nate Diaz into a Russian reality show that’s a knockoff of The Ultimate Fighter? Total chaos, of course! The heavyweight champ’s trip to Thailand was already dramatic, more animated than usual, but with Diaz joining the mix, along with a bunch of amped-up fighters, the whole thing spiraled fast. The show quickly turned into a mess, even putting the GOAT in a pretty concerning spot.

All hell broke loose during the recent filming of the ALF reality show. It started when Nate Diaz’s longtime friend, Jake Shields, shared a clip showing Team Diaz getting into a heated confrontation with another cast member, and things went downhill fast. One fighter, Zalik, who already had a reputation for stirring up drama in past seasons, has confronted Diaz and got slapped. Shields stepped in to shut it down, but that’s when a crew member got involved and hit him, which brought filming to a screeching halt. After the scuffle, Jon Jones released a statement addressing the situation, which was later posted by Red Corner MMA on their social media.

Jones said: “We had one of our younger guy named Zalik. He was playing with Nate, he wanted to play fight with Nate. Nate kinda came in little bit on the edge, I think he had some previous beef, with the Russian fighters. So, he was a little bit on the edge when he got here. Playing fighting with Nate wasn’t the best idea. It became serious right away, we had to replace Nate.  I have been around the Bushido spirit, where everybody have a certain degree of rules, that you don’t cross… I don’t think there’s a lot of that here. Some guys are just warriors, and some guys are street fighters. There’s insults and weapons, this show is.. There’s nothing like it.” 

Jon Jones is still in Thailand, continuing with the filming despite all the chaos. But there’s a sense of unease hanging in the air—no one really knows when or where the next brawl might break out. In response to Jones’ post, Nate Diaz’s friend Jake Shields chimed in with a few words of caution, saying, “There is not a lot of bushido here. There are insults, there are weapons. I hope you stay safe in Thailand, Jon!” The show was already wild, but after the Diaz confrontation, it cranked things up to a whole new level. So, Shield’s concern for the heavyweight champ was apt. 

According to Shields, the whole brawl may have stemmed from Nate Diaz’s long-standing beef with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Khamzat Chimaev. So there was already some tension in the air when they decided to film episodes involving Russian fighters. Sure enough, things got out of hand. Also, Diaz have recently tried to downplay Islam Makhachev’s accomplishment in a recent video, that might have also fueled this confrontation. 

But the brawl didn’t exactly end well for the Stockton native either, as more details have started to come out. Reportedly, things got even more intense when Nate Diaz and his crew were chased down by some of the Russian fighters on motorcycles as they were trying to leave the scene. So yeah, this wasn’t just a quick dust-up—it turned into something way more serious. Let’s break down what really went down.

Nate Diaz reveals his team was chased by Russian fighters on motorcycles after the brawl

Nate Diaz is no stranger to brawls, he’s been in plenty over the years. Nate Diaz has always been known for getting into wild altercations—just look back at the UFC 202 press conference with Conor McGregor, where the two ended up throwing bottles at each other In January, he also got in a confrontation with  Islam Makhachev’s team at UFC 311 post-fight pressers backstage. But this one had some serious tension behind it, and the aftermath didn’t look great. After Diaz, Jake Shields, and the rest of their crew left the set of the show, several Russian fighters reportedly followed them around the area on motorcycles. 

Jake Shields later shared footage and details of what went down on his Fight Back podcast. He said, “People have been sending me videos from Russian Instagram, TV, and stuff supposedly of these Russian and Chechen fighters looking for us around Thailand. The driver drove us to our hotel, they knew exactly where we were, we were in the same area for three, four days, walking around, going to the exact same places. Everyone knew where we were at, we were chillin’ where we were. They were just trying to act tough.”

Nate Diaz and his crew are without a doubt some of the toughest people on the planet. Honesty, the Russian chasing them had to be an intimidating scenario. That situation definitely escalated way more than it should’ve, and honestly, things could’ve gone even further if Team Diaz had stayed in Thailand any longer. Jon Jones has already confirmed that Diaz has been replaced on the show, but as for who’s taking his spot, that’s still a mystery for now.

With that being said, what do you think about the whole AFL reality TV saga? Do let us know by putting your thoughts in the comment sections below.