Nate Diaz has slapped a reporter at UFC 276. Yes, you read that right. 

Slaps at high-profile events have been in trend of late. Will Smith didn’t think twice before cutting himself loose, and he has since been the hot topic. 

Diaz didn’t take that too well, though, it seems. The American welterweight has slapped an MMA reporter backstage at UFC 276 after being asked an innocent question. 

The reporter only took the liberties of asking if he’d be supporting Sean O’Malley, to which, Diaz responded:

“Nah. And you better watch your tweets about my dude who was fighting recently."

And then he resorted to madness, first whacking the mic out of the reporter’s hands before slapping the hat off him, too. 

There surely will be some repercussions, because it’s clear that the reporter didn’t cross a line. He wasn’t provocative either, which makes the entire incident a bit strange. 

It has been a while since he last stepped in the Octagon - his last fight was a defeat to Leon Edwards - and this incident may mean it does not happen anytime soon. We will see about that. 

It’s a shame it might also cause more delay in a potential fight between Jake Paul and Diaz, a clash that UFC boss Dana White approves of. 

Speaking to TheMacLife, he said:

“I mean, I like Nate (but) let’s be honest, Nate’s won one fight in the last five or six years,” White said.

“You know? When these guys get into these positions, you’ve got guys that have been with us for a long time, that we respect, that we care about.

"You know, you’ve got Cerrone and Anthony Pettis before he left, and you’ve got Nate Diaz and Nick Diaz is still under contract with us. So you want to be fair to everybody, you want to do the right things or whatever. Nate Diaz isn’t going to come in and fight Kamaru Usman.

UFC 244 Masvidal v Diaz
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 02: Nate Diaz of the United States enters the ring for his fight against Jorge Masvidal of the United States in the Welterweight "BMF" championship bout during UFC 244 at Madison Square Garden on November 02, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 02: Nate Diaz of the United States enters the ring for his fight against Jorge Masvidal of the United States in the Welterweight "BMF" championship bout during UFC 244 at Madison Square Garden on November 02, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)

“We’re trying not to sh*t on anybody and disrespect anybody, but it’s not like we’re talking about Kamaru Usman here. We’re talking about Nate Diaz.

"Nate’s won one fight in five years, so we’re trying to figure this thing out with him. He probably should go on and fight Jake Paul. That’s a fight that makes sense.”

Diaz vs Paul. That will box-office.