Getty Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal
Mixed martial arts superstar Nate Diaz is facing a second-degree battery charge, and Jorge Masvidal recommended a big-name lawyer to represent him.
Although the two have a heated rivalry stemming from when they shared the Octagon in 2019, Masvidal told MMA Junkie that celebrity lawyer Brad Cohan was just a call away for Diaz. Diaz is currently out on $10,000 bond after turning himself over to New Orleans police on Thursday morning. He was hit with the felony charge after a video went viral of him choking out a man on a street in the city last weekend.
A few days later, police issued a statement revealing that Diaz had been issued an arrest warrant. Well, Masvidal, who is currently engaged in a legal battle with Colby Covington after he was accused of punching “Chaos” multiple times outside of a restaurant in Miami last year, threw his support at Diaz.
“Nate Diaz if you see this, I’ve got a top lawyer in the country who wants to represent you,” Masvidal said. “His name is Brad Cohan. Have your people get in touch with him. He wants to take care of you. The dude is the man. I just remembered he has told me that. I don’t talk to Nate Diaz, but my boys at MMA Junkie can give him the message. Brad Cohan is the man.”
Notably, Cohan represented Lil Wayne and Kodack Black when they received pardons from former US President Donald Trump in 2021.
Masvidal Said ‘You’ve Got to Respect Every Threat’ in Regard to Diaz’s Actions
TikTok influencer Rodney Petersen has been identified as the man who was choked unconscious by Diaz after a Misfits Boxing event. Diaz claimed in a statement that his actions were a product of self-defense, and video of the incident features Petersen approaching Diaz before the two got into it.
“What it looked like to me is this dude ran up on Nate, and you’ve got to respect every threat,” Masvidal continued.
“It looked like it was self-defense. But I don’t know. I didn’t see the whole video, I just saw one sh*tty angle so I don’t want to say too much. I just want to say: You can’t run up on people. You can’t violate people’s personal space and feel it’s cool to get away with. As good of an ass-kicking machine as I am, I give everyone their personal space. I don’t invade nobody, even if I have to ask, ‘Where’s the train stop?’ or something – I do it from a safe distance. You don’t want to be invading space cause you just don’t know.”
Diaz’s Team Says They Will Work to Prove His Innocence
In a statement provided to MMA Junkie, Diaz’s representative Zach Rosenfield said the fighter’s team was assembling proof that he was defending himself.
“Nate voluntarily turned himself in to the New Orleans Police Department this morning approximately at 7:10AM CT,” Rosenfield said. “We continue to look forward to presenting all the evidence and videos that show Nate was acting in self-defense.”
Second-degree battery is a felony charge in Louisiana, and it carries with it up to eight years in prison, as well as the potential of hard labor and a fine upwards of $2000, per Ambeau Law Firm.