Rowdy Fans Got Into Fights at the Jake Paul Vs. Nate Diaz Match in Dallas

On Saturday, the sold-out American Airlines Center got more than an exciting Jake “The Problem Child” Paul unanimous-decision victory over UFC legend Nate Diaz. No matter where you were seated, you had a front-row view of a fight.

All night long, fights broke out constantly among the rowdy crowd, which was a mix of fans and celebrities.

While Paul, 26, and Diaz, 38, delivered an unforgettable 10-round cruiserweight fight for the second-highest gate ever for a combat sports event in the AAC, knockdown, drag-out brawls between fans erupted nonstop and went viral across social media. These explosive altercations were undoubtedly an outgrowth of Paul and Diaz's antics to build up to fight night.

American Airlines Center for Jake Paul-Nate Diaz is already packed. Looks like a sellout #PaulDiaz pic.twitter.com/ZpF5qX2fBS

— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) August 6, 2023

The first foreshadowing of chaos on fight night came when a couple of die-hard Nate Diaz fans began searching the AAC for Jake Paul’s antagonizing friend and Betr Media ambassador Derek Sullivan, as they announced in a video they shared on social media.

Sullivan, who goes by Derek From Betr, had taunted Diaz with threats of fighting Diaz’s brother and fellow UFC legend Nick Diaz since the fight's announcement in May.

“Tell Derek, we’re looking for Derek, man,” said Houston’s @RapDreamz on Twitter as he and a friend surveyed the arena.

Someone tell Derek from better media im looking for dude nate sent his hittas #pauldiaz #NateDiaz pic.twitter.com/TAl31DVwBq

— YungProdigy (@RapDreamz) August 5, 2023

The first incident occurred as the AAC guests filed into their seats during the prelims and undercard. Authorities carried a man out in handcuffs. While they questioned guests in the lower-level seats, the rowdy adult repeatedly argued with police after being told to remain silent while appearing drunk, unruly and disorderly with authorities. Meanwhile, various celebrities —such as former Dallas Cowboys Michael Irvin and Dez Bryant, MMA stars Jorge Masvidal, Kevin Lee, Francis Ngannou and rapper Yella Beezy — would arrive to fanfare.

Chaos ensued as Jake Paul arrived at the arena on a gold tank halfway through the evening, following Nate Diaz who taunted Derek Sullivan by throwing a drink. Diaz’s entourage collided with fightgoers, and authorities intervened. The incident would cause the sold-out arena to erupt with excitement a they watched intense fights from an undercard that included a unanimous decision win by Alan Sanchez against Angel Beltran, rising boxing star Shadasia Green staying undefeated against Olivia Curry with a tough, unanimous win and a knockout performance by the new undefeated lightweight star Ashton “H20” Sylve, who stopped his opponent, William Silva, in Round 4.

Derek at Betr Media when he’s face to face with #NateDiaz #DiazVSPaul pic.twitter.com/5MwXmHddcn

— Bella Bee (@SmileyYYC) August 3, 2023

The third fight of the evening involved Jake Paul’s older brother, Logan Paul, who flew from Detroit after participating in the opening match of WWE’s Summerslam earlier that evening. Logan and his entourage were provoked into a front-row brawl after they escorted Jake Paul to the ring. A video showed a chair being thrown along with punches from everyone involved, including Logan Paul, as security separated and accompanied Logan Paul’s attackers out.

Jake Paul discussed the altercation with his family after the fight on his BS with Jake Paul podcast.

Logan Paul gets attacked by Nate Diaz fans at his brother Jake Paul fight in Dallas Texas after flying from WWE summerslam in Detroit. #pauldiaz #jakepaul #natediaz #ufc #mma #boxing #espn #dazn #wwe #SummerSlampic.twitter.com/FciNvZkYrk

— The Polite Scumbag (@ScumbagPolite) August 6, 2023

The Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz fight included one highlight: Paul knocked Diaz down with a signature overhand hook in Round 4 to help secure the unanimous decision. Still, the in-ring fighting wouldn’t stop with the two competitors as the production crew got into the action behind the scenes.

While he spoke with in-ring reporter Ariel Helwani, Nate Diaz broke up a fight between two camera operators. After stopping his interview, Diaz told the camera operators, “Hey, be nice.”
Fans exiting the arena caught the final brawl on video, which included eight people in the lobby. Security and arena workers attempted to regain order and avoid property damage. Still, the participants spread out from the lobby's center to various hallways. The 32-second video footage shows fans engaging in body slams, punching and choking.

Paul/Diaz brought in $3.1 million at the box office with 19,442 tickets sold. Ringside tickets sold for $3,500. ESPN+ and DAZN reported that the fight brought in 850,000 Pay-Per-View buys, which surpassed the estimated 600,000 predicted before the fight. Jake Paul and Nate Diaz agreed on a rematch possibility.

In Dallas, the fight week build-up to Paul vs. Diaz was electrifying as both fighters shared love and appreciation for DFW and often referenced local sports organizations in interviews.

“I’m excited, man, I’m ball on his face, like Luka Doncic, dropping 40 on his face,” Paul said, while doing a left hook during the final press conference inside Deep Ellum’s The Factory last Thursday.

Dallas has been a significant place for Jake Paul since he became an international star at 16. Paul mentioned his love for Dallas fans in May.

“I love Texas, always loved Texas,” Paul said. “This [Dallas] is where I did my first fan meet-up ever when I was 16 years old. So it’s awesome to bring it back here and to really put on a show cause Texas obviously has crazy fight fans. Excited to put on a massive event. The pre-signups obviously show there’s a huge interest in this event.”