Update: Miami Herald mistook another fighter for Nate Diaz, Diaz camp exploring legal action

On Wednesday, the Miami Herald published an inaccurate article reporting that UFC welterweight star Nate Diaz had been hospitalized after brawling with cops during a domestic violence arrest in Miami.

The veracity of this story was immediately called into question by Diaz’s team, who denied it outright and pointed out that Diaz has not been in Miami for over a week.

The report was quickly deleted from the Miami Herald website, confirming its falsity.

The publication later posted an updated report, correcting the story with new information.

The fighter in question was not the UFC’s Nate Diaz, but a former mixed martial artist named Michael Albert Nates, who has not fought since 2012.

“In an initial version of this story, the Miami Herald incorrectly reported that mixed martial arts superstar Nate Diaz had been arrested in a domestic-violence case,” the corrected article explained. “The Herald apologizes for the error.”

While this correction is a good start at mending a major error, it doesn’t sound like the Miami Herald is out of the woods yet.

According to Zach Rosenfield, a representative for Nate Diaz, the fighter and his team are already considering legal action in response to the publication’s erroneous report, which could certainly be considered defamatory or libellous.

“The story printed by the Miami Herald is 100% false, inaccurate, baseless, irresponsible and utter nonsense,” Rosenfield told ESPN reporter Ariel Helwani. “Miami Herald has since pulled down the story. We demand an apology and have already have begun exploring legal action.”

Nate Diaz has not fought since November, when he was defeated by Jorge Masvidal via doctor stoppage in the UFC’s first and only BMF title fight. At present, it’s not clear what the fighter’s future holds, though he’s recently been linked to a welterweight fight with fellow fan favorite Dustin Poirier. 

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/12/2020. 

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