Las Vegas Casino Battery Charge Against Ex-UFC Fighter Dismissed

Nate Diaz is off the hook for allegedly striking a Las Vegas nightclub security guard last year, according to multiple reports. Quoting the former UFC fighter’s defense attorney, TMZ reported that the misdemeanor battery case, originally scheduled to go to trial Thursday, was dismissed after Diaz agreed to complete an online impulse-control class.

The charge stemmed from an incident in August 2024, captured in this video, in which Diaz pushed against a security guard’s face with his opened right hand outside Omnia Nightclub at Caesars Palace, knocking the glasses off his face.

Diaz’s attorney, Ross Goodman  — who is the son of former Las Vegas mayors Oscar and Caroline Goodman — acknowledged the confrontation did happen. However, he insisted that his client was merely defending himself.

“The selected portion of the video that went viral omitted the prelude that Nate pushed back the security guard in his face to create space,” Goodman told ESPN. “It appears that one security guard sought a confrontation by repeatedly pushing and getting in Nate’s face. In the face of an overaggressive security guard, Nate showed great restraint and poise in trying to deescalate the altercation.”

Diaz, one of the biggest stars in UFC history, left the fold in 2022 after a victory over Tony Ferguson in Las Vegas, but stated earlier this week that he is interested in returning to seek a championship.

Off-Duty Fights

This wasn’t Diaz’s first time putting his MMA skills to use in his personal life. In April 2023, the former welterweight headliner choked out Logan Paul lookalike Rodney Peterson in a New Orleans street fight.

Diaz was arraigned by New Orleans police on a second-degree battery charge, but the local district attorney decided to drop that case after determining that Diaz acted “100% in self-defense.”

Diaz and his older brother, former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz, are embraced by MMA fans for their brash fighting technique and anti-authoritarian attitude.