UFC 279 free fight: Nate Diaz flips off, beats up Donald Cerrone
Middle fingers are part of Nate Diaz’s repertoire, as was evidenced by the two he showed to Donald Cerrone in between rounds during their clash at UFC 141.
The bout was the co-main event to Alistair Overeem’s TKO of Brock Lesnar, as part of a card that took place Dec. 30, 2011 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The bad blood was evident from the moment the pre-fight promotion began. At a pre-fight ceremonial faceoff, Diaz infamously smacked Cerrone’s cowboy hat off and shoved him.
When it came time to fight, the respect level continued its flatline. In between Round 2 and Round 3, Diaz flipped the double bird at Cerrone, who just received a massive pump-up speech from coach Greg Jackson.
As a whole, the fight was largely one-sided in Diaz’s favor. He cruised to an impressive 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 unanimous decision win over “Cowboy.”
Five years later, in 2015, Cerrone revealed he initiated a beef-squashing with the Diaz Brothers.
“I went up and talked to Nate and Nick, both of them,” Cerrone told MMA Junkie. “I said, ‘Hey, man, this sh*t has got to stop. We either have to figure it out, or figure it out.’ You know what I mean? They were like, ‘Cool, man.’”
Check out the full fight from UFC 141 above and check out the double middle finger flip below.