Manager: Nate Diaz "probably" will pay expected brawl fine to assure UFC 118 fight

UFC lightweight Nate Diaz likely will pay a $7,500 fine he expects the Tennessee Athletic Commission to hand down so he can avoid any possible hiccups to a scheduled fight with Marcus Davis.

Diaz, 25, is believed to be one of five people targeted by the TAC for disciplinary action in the wake of a post-event brawl at the April 17 "Strikeforce: Nashville" event at Bridgestone Arena, though the commission currently will not confirm if he is part of the group.

"We just want to get this past us, and probably we'll pay the fine and move on," Cesar Gracie, Diaz's manager, today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

As MMAjunkie.com first reported in May, Diaz (12-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is expected to fight Davis (17-6 MMA, 8-3 UFC) at UFC 118 on Aug. 28 in Boston, though fallout from the melee cast doubt on his ability to be licensed for the fight. This past weekend UFC president Dana White said that he would honor any suspension issued by the TAC as a result of the incident.

However, Diaz is not licensed in Tennessee and can't be suspended.

"They could probably not let him fight in Tennessee in the future, but they can't suspend him from fighting," Gracie said.

The manager said Diaz could be fined because the TAC believes he acted as "a second" (cornerman) to Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields, who just prior to the brawl defeated Dan Henderson in the event's headliner.

"He wasn't a second," Gracie said. "If we were get to the nitty-gritty, that wouldn't hold up in a court."

Nevertheless, Gracie said paying the fine – rather than requesting a hearing – would be a good lesson to Diaz and the rest of his fighters involved in the confrontation, including Shields; Diaz's brother, Nick Diaz; and Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez.

The identities of those involved in the brawl will not be released until the commission's administrative actions are finalized, said Christopher Garrett, director of communications for the state of Tennessee's Department of Commerce & Insurance.

If Nate Diaz declines to pay the expected fine, the TAC could place him on a national registry that may prevent him from being licensed in other states.

The brawl broke out following the CBS-televised headliner between Shields and Henderson. Preliminary-card fighter Jason "Mayhem" Miller then entered the cage to campaign for a rematch with Shields, and the confrontation led to pushing an eventual scrap between the fighter and the Team Gracie fighters.

Garrett said in three of the pending cases, the commission found probable cause to authorize a formal hearing for a civil penalty of $20,000 each and associated costs, as well as a nine-month suspension. Each individual can agree to a "consent order" that would allow him to skip the hearing and agree to a $5,000 fine and three-month suspension.

In the fourth case, all of the particulars are the same except that the settlement fine would be $7,500. The larger amount represents an additional civil penalty because the individual did not respond to the commission's inquiry as instructed.

A fifth case also recommends the larger $7,500 settlement fine because the individual did not respond to the commission's inquiry. The individual is not licensed with the state, and the complaint also alleges "unlicensed activity," according to Garrett.

State officials did not immediately confirm when the hearings would take place in the event one or more of the individuals requests one.

via mmacrypt.com

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