Who is Jake Paul's manager? Boxing star's pre-fight press briefing with Nate Diaz leads to massive brawl between bodyguards
DALLAS, TEXAS: Jake Paul and Nate Diaz are set to face each other in one of the most-anticipated professional boxing contests of the year, dubbed as "Ready 4 War," set to take place on Saturday, August 5, night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Ahead of the match, the build-up tension between Paul and Diaz further intensified after a massive brawl broke out between the security staff of both parties following a face-off between the boxing rivals on Thursday, August 3.
Chaos ensued as the respective parties exchanged blows towards each other amid Paul and Diaz's pre-fight press conference. While the reason behind the scuffle remains unknown, Diaz was reportedly seen exchanging words with Paul's manager Nakisa Bidarian on stage at the American Airlines Center, as per the Daily Mail. Shortly after, Paul's security intervened and nestled around the pair before one staff member shoved another and the situation descended into an all-out tussle.
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What is known about Nakisa Bidarian?
Bidarian is an investment, media, sports, and entertainment executive, as per his LinkedIn profile. He serves as the executive-in-residence at Dynasty Equity investment firm and is also the founder of BAVAFA Sports. He is the co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions and former co-founder and CEO of Fertitta Capital. Bidarian also served as the former Chief Strategy Officer and CFO of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), according to his bio on the official website of Dynasty Equity.
Bidarian reportedly earned an MBA degree from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and completed his B.A. from the University of Waterloo. He founded BAVAFA Sports, a media, sports, talent advisory, and investment firm in 2019. During his time at Fertitta Capital, Bidarian reportedly led investments in Action Network, SportLogiq, Hitco Entertainment, Moonbug Entertainment, Bayes ESports and FloSports. Prior to co-founding and leading Fertitta, he led the sale to Endeavor, Silver Lake, and KKR as the Chief Strategy Officer and CFO of UFC. Bidarian also served positions with Accenture, Citi, Morgan Stanley, and Mubadala.
What happened at Jake Paul and Nate Diaz's pre-fight press con?
As a huge brawl broke out during Paul and Diaz's pre-fight press conference, security from both sides got involved in the fight. As per the Daily Mail, both parties began throwing punches and striking blows towards each other but the boxers maintained their composure and steered clear of involvement. Paul even turned his back to the scuffle and began screaming something towards the crowd.
The brawl was eventually handled by separating both the fighting sides. While it is not known which side made the first move, Paul took to Twitter to blame Diaz's team for the first blow. "Nate's team has emailed my team trying to claim assault after his team swung first. Apparently the guy who swung first is at the hospital getting stitches. Hilarious these fake gangsters acting like this!" the YouTube-star-turned-boxer wrote after the conference.
Nate’s team has emailed my team trying to claim assault after his team swung first.
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) August 3, 2023
Apparently the guy who swung first is at the hospital getting stitches.
Hilarious these fake gangsters acting like this!
During an appearance on the DAZN weigh-in show after Diaz, Paul reiterated his claims and said also that he was successful in playing mind games with the UFC star. "Man, I'm deep in his head. I'm having a picnic in his head, and man, I hurt his feelings. In his head, he basically got all pissed off. The security teams started fighting. His security swung first, my security hit him with a check hook, and that was that. This is what I do. I love to get in people's head, get them all riled up."