Nick Diaz and Joe Riggs had already gone to war inside the octagon at UFC 57, but the real fireworks happened afterward, inside a hospital. This notorious incident is revisited in a Dark Side of the Cage documentary, where Diaz himself recounts the chaos that erupted.
Back in February 2006, Diaz and Riggs clashed in a three-round battle at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Riggs secured a unanimous decision victory, but the tension between them was far from over. Both fighters were sent to the hospital for post-fight treatment, and when they crossed paths, things escalated quickly.
Heated Words Turn Physical
While Riggs was on a gurney receiving an IV, Diaz walked in with his brother, immediately hurling insults. “He walks in with his brother into the hospital, looking like a gargoyle by f—— strolling in,” Riggs recalled. Diaz was in no mood to let the loss go, mocking Riggs for being laid up. “Look at that motherf—— b—-, he can’t even get off the gurney,” he taunted.
Riggs, still processing the fight, fired back. “Well, I won,” he responded, trying to shut down Diaz’s trash talk. But that only fueled the fire. Diaz wasn’t having it, responding, “Oh yeah, f—— look at you motherf—–. He was on a stretcher.”
The Moment It Exploded
As tensions boiled over, Diaz didn’t wait for another exchange of words. “Boom, and I cracked him,” he recalled, making it clear that he wasn’t done fighting just because the official bout had ended.
While no footage of the incident exists, the hospital brawl became legendary in MMA circles. It’s now being revisited in VICE’s Dark Side of the Cage, where both fighters give their accounts of the chaotic post-fight clash. The episode, which also features Georges St-Pierre, explores Diaz’s controversial career, including his five-year ban for marijuana use.
For fans of Diaz, this story is just another chapter in the unpredictable legacy of one of MMA’s most notorious figures.
