Islam Makhachev opens up about elevator encounter with Nate Diaz after UFC 311 presser water bottle incident: "He say, ‘respect, respect’"

Islam Makhachev last entered the octagon in June when he defeated Dustin Poirier via fifth-round submission at UFC 302. He will now look to defend his lightweight title for a record fourth time when he faces Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311 next weekend.

During a promotional press conference for the event, the lightweight champion and his team were involved in a water bottle throwing incident with Nate Diaz. Speaking to Demetrious Johnson on his Mighty podcast, Makhachev discussed the altercation, stating:

"We sit in the - before the fight day, I have press conference then fighters have official weigh-in. We sit and Diaz start to show them [his middle finger], for what? Maybe for someone, it's good, it's no problem, but it's not our style. Because one of the guys, he wears the mask, you know? Maybe he's sick a little bit, he wear the mask and maybe Diaz is thinking, 'oh, it's Khabib [Nurmagomedov]' and show him, but that day Khabib not in Vegas, he's in some other country."

Makhachev continued:

"Interesting, maybe five, six months ago, I meet Diaz in the elevator in Wynn hotel. He go to cross to me and say, 'respect, respect', just walk, but what change now? They love when a lot of cameras come, always people change. We don't have something. If I have something with him, I can fix it in the Wynn hotel, but he come to me like two meters. He say, 'respect, respect' and he go."

Check out Islam Makhachev's comments on Nate Diaz below:

Makhachev and Diaz were involved in an altercation at the UFC 310 ceremonial weigh-in. The former was on hand for a UFC 311 promotional press conference, while the latter was there supporting his teammate Kron Gracie.

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Islam Makhachev jokes that Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo should change podcast name

Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo host a podcast titled Pound 4 Pound. Islam Makhachev, who sits atop the UFC's pound for pound rankings, recently advised them that they need to call him for permission to use the name. During the appearance on Demetrous Johnson's Mighty podcast, the lightweight champion stated:

"Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman, they call the podcast Pound 4 Pound. We not agree with this. You don't have, guys, permission. You have to close, or call us, we give you permission...Or maybe we forgive them if they put our podcast in their channel."

Check out Islam Makhachev's comments on Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo below:

Makhachev, Usman and Cejudo are all managed by Ali Abdelaziz. He joked that the two should call their manager to discuss the name of their podcast with him.