Nevada commission schedules re-hearing for Nate Diaz UFC 202 press conference incident

Less than a month after the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) moved to dramatically reduce Conor McGregor’s punishment for the UFC 202 press conference melee, Nate Diaz will get his second shot as well.

Diaz will receive a re-hearing in front of the NAC on Wednesday, April 12 in Las Vegas, the commission announced late Friday. The announcement is very much expected, and arrives shortly after McGregor’s re-hearing with the NAC. Last month, McGregor saw his controversial commission punishment reduced from all the way from a $75,000 fine and 50 hours of community service down to a $25,000 fine with 25 hours.

The ruling ended a long saga for McGregor that began in Aug. 2016 when he and Diaz engaged in a fiery skirmish inside of the Copperfield Theater in Las Vegas, bringing UFC 202's pre-fight press conference to a premature end.

Following a walkout by Diaz, the two sides hurled several water bottles at one another across the theater, with McGregor even throwing a Monster Energy can he grabbed off the dais. The incident was heavily promoted on various media throughout the rest of fight week and ultimately helped UFC 202 become one of the highest-selling UFC pay-per-views of all-time.

In the aftermath of the press conference, Diaz’s commission-mandated punishment mirrored McGregor’s. The NAC fined the Stockton native $50,000 — or 2.5 percent of his $2 million purse — along with handing him 50 hours of community service.

However, McGregor’s initial fine was even higher than Diaz’s due to his larger fight purse, and not surprisingly, McGregor balked at paying such a penalty.

With talks of a potential blockbuster fight between the Irishman and Floyd Mayweather heating up, the NAC ultimately elected to revisit its original decision on McGregor, with NAC executive director Bob Bennett stating of the commission’s first ruling, “I just didn’t think that was fair.”

In doing so, NAC representatives also indicated that an amended punishment for Diaz would be revisited as well. And with Diaz now scheduled for a “hearing on proposed adjudication agreement” at this month’s NAC meeting, it appears that process has largely been completed.