MMA fighter Nate Diaz turns himself in after New Orleans street brawl

Mixed martial arts fighter Nate Diaz turned himself in to police in New Orleans on Thursday to face a battery charge arising from a weekend street brawl.

The 38-year-old surrendered after video spread on social media of Diaz apparently choking YouTube personality Rodney Petersen unconscious during a fight in the city’s popular Bourbon Street. In the video, Petersen can be seen confronting Diaz as people fight around them. Diaz then gets Petersen into a chokehold before letting him drop to the ground, apparently unconscious. Police said Petersen was found “bleeding from the rear of his head”.

Diaz went to police with his attorney on Thursday and turned himself in, a police news release said. His attorney, Walter Becker, has told New Orleans news outlets Diaz acted in self-defense.

Becker said in a statement that Diaz “looks forward to presenting all of the facts about this incident to the District Attorney which clearly demonstrate that a trained fighter named Rodney Petersen aggressively pursued Nate with the intention of engaging him and once doing so, Nate acted entirely in self-defense.”

Petersen has a 1-0 record as a professional boxer, and has fought in amateur MMA bouts.

Diaz posted bond and was cleared to return home to Stockton, California, Zach Rosenfield, Diaz’s public relations representative, said.

“We appreciate how we were treated by the New Orleans Police Department, the court and their staff,” Rosenfield said in an email.

Diaz has been one of the most popular fighters in MMA since 2016, when he split two high-profile bouts with Conor McGregor.

Diaz and his older brother, former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz, are well-known for their brash fighting style, strict training standards, embrace of marijuana