In the latest twist in the MMA sphere, Nate Diaz and Brendan Schaub got into a back-and-forth on social media which got heated, and fast. It all started when Diaz posted on X, “Brendan the big ol p—y schaub” followed by a crying emoji. But why the sudden jab at Schaub? After all, the fighter turned media personality fought at heavyweight in his career, far removed from Diaz’s weight division.

According to a video shared by Full Mount MMA on YouTube, Diaz may have been responding to Schaub’s recent episode no. 406 of the ‘The Schaub Show’ where he talked about UFC veteran Shane Carwin and the effects of CTE on his life after his fighting career. An emotional Schaub had tearfully shared, “…we’re talking about a former f—king world champion, one of the best knockout artists ever even though he didn’t have a crazy, long career, he can’t afford food, shelter, and transportation to function in life.”

Never one to back down, Schaub responded to Diaz on X, as the former challenged the latter to a grappling match. And Schaub was confident that he would end with Diaz getting seriously injured. “Ooh buddy. I prob got 20 lbs on you so not too far off. I’ll snap your neck. Set up a grappling match and let me know how it goes for you. Have one of your handlers read this tweet and get back to me,” he wrote. But Schaub didn’t stop there.

He took the beef to Instagram, posting screenshots of the exchange on X with the caption, “Not sure what set this dude off. Mentioning CTE I assume. All good. Do something about it bud. I’m not hard to find. Have your handlers set up a grappling match. Let’s see how it goes for you.” Although the two never met on the mats, feud between them is not new. Let’s go back for 7 years.

In 2017, at a boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor, Diaz and Schaub ran into each other in the backstage. According to the clips, Schaub was probably looking to have a conversation with Nate, when the latter suddenly started hurling back some inaudible expletives.

According to Schaub, he was trying to “help out” in marketing a third fight with McGregor. “I’m like ‘bro, Nate, how about that fight man? You’re next, biggest fight in UFC history, brother.’ And he starts laughing. He’s like ‘Oh, hell no. How f—-ng stupid do you look now? How stupid do you look, talking all this sh-t?’” Schaub recalled on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

“I went ‘Nate, I have no issues with you. You’re pointing your gun at the wrong guy, what are you doing right now? You should be selling this fight against Conor, not me. I’m not the guy.’ I was just embarrassed by the situation Because he kept doing this [raising his middle finger),” Schaub further added. Schaub noted that the situation might have been aggravated after he called Diaz out for not speaking clearly.

“This is what triggered him. He was talking, and I literally couldn’t hear him because people were like ‘Schaub, let’s go’ because they didn’t want a fight. And he keeps talking, and I’m like ‘Nate, use your words. I can’t understand a word you’re saying. Use your words.’ And he probably has that lisp, or whatever, that probably set him off. But, I have no issues with Nate, there’s nothing there,” Schaub stated.

With all that history already there, fans, as expected, had a field day with this exchange. Some were excited by the possibility of a Diaz vs. Schaub grappling match, while others saw it as pure comedy. Here’s a look at what the netizens had to say.

Fans excited about the possibility of Nate Diaz and Brendan Schaub’s bout

Surprisingly, Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller showed up in the comments for this exchange! For those unfamiliar, ‘Mayhem’ is a veteran of the sport having fought in organizations like UFC, Strikeforce, WFA, WEC, and DREAM. But he might be more popularly known as the host of the MTV reality series, ‘Bully Beatdown’ which ran from 2009 to 2012 and challenged bullies to fight against trained MMA professionals! With ‘Mayhem’ offering his services to host the grappling match between Nate Diaz and Brendan Schaub, could we see a new reality series where fighters settle their ‘beef’ in grappling matches hosted by an expert in televised spectacles? What do you think?

Mayhemmiller: “Well I would be happy to host this match”

Meanwhile, the fans began to pick their favorites in this matchup as some asserted that Diaz would win a grappling match. While both men are black belts in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Schaub’s size advantage as a former UFC heavyweight might come into play on the mats.

“Nate gets the W”

Others were more excited to see Schaub return to competition, even if it may be due to an online beef that led to a grappling match. ‘Big Brown’ as he’s also known, retired from MMA in 2015 after suffering back-to-back losses in his last 2-fights. But with ‘Mayhem’ Miller seemingly already on-board, is it time for the ‘Big Brown Beatdown’ as the fans have dubbed it? 

“Big Brown Beatdown. Hell yeah been waiting for his return”

Some fans were even excited to see the prospect of Diaz and Schaub actually taking this feud to the mats. However, this altercation isn’t as random as it seems. The two have a bit of history, dating back to 2017, after the infamous Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor fight. Schaub, who was at the fight, shared a now-legendary backstage run-in with Diaz on Joe Rogan’s podcast. ‘Big Brown’ recalled how Diaz taunted him over McGregor’s performance, saying things like, “How stupid do you look now?”

Schaub caught off guard, tried to keep things civil but admitted to feeling embarrassed by the encounter. The tension between the two fighters never escalated physically, but the memory clearly lingered and may be the reason why the two went at each other on social media recently!

“I was hoping and praying that you would respond! When a guy who fought the majority of his career at lightweight is calling out a heavyweight I would love to see what happens!”

While Schaub has built a career in comedy and podcasting since his retirement from the sport of MMA, the fans claimed that his offer for a grappling match against Diaz with such heated words turned out to be unintentionally hilarious!

“Brendan acting like he is about it…then calling for a grappling match is actually the funniest joke he has ever told”

While it’s not clear whether these two will ever settle their beef on the mats, it does highlight the fact that as with most things in MMA, anything can happen. Either way, the internet is having a blast with this drama. Do you think Nate Diaz and Brendan Schaub will actually take this feud to the mats? Why or why not? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!