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Nate Diaz trolls Ryan Garcia as boxing star adopts Islam Makhachev’s ‘Dagestan’ meme

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Donagh Corby | Last updated Dec 5, 2025 5:00 PM ET

Nate Diaz had something not too kind to say to Ryan Garcia after the boxer attempted to take part in one of MMA’s most famous memes.

The legendary former UFC star is not a fan of Islam Makhachev or his team, and as a result wouldn’t be keen on fighters training in Dagestan. But it has become a popular meme in the MMA community to tell someone to train for two-three years in the region to improve their skills, fitness and toughness.

Garcia, who is returning in February after suffering his second professional loss over the summer in New York, joked that he was doing just that. And Diaz was not impressed, leaving a crude comment on his photo.

Nate Diaz hits out at Ryan Garcia after use of ‘Dagestan’ meme

Ryan Garcia is one of the most popular boxing stars on social media, and yesterday he took to Instagram to share a video of himself in which he adds an AI beard to his face. He captioned it “After 2-3 years in Dagestan”.

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Garcia tagged Khabib Nurmagomedov in the post, who replied and joked that someone of his talents would realistically only need to “come to Dagestan 1 years”. Umar Nurmagomedov also commented, simply laughing at the meme.

But Nate Diaz was not as impressed as the 6.7million other viewers, commenting: “Aw s—, you turned gay” underneath the video. His comment was drowned out by thousands of Khabib fans, who felt it was a funny video, and is hard to find now under hundreds of comments.

Nate Diaz and Ryan Garcia’s next moves in the fight world

Neither Diaz or Garcia have a fight officially booked next, but both are expected to compete next year at some point. The former MMA star has been in the boxing world of late, but has been angling for a fight in the cage with Jake Paul.

Meanwhile Garcia has told fans and streamers that he expects to return to the ring around February 21 of next year. No opponent or venue has been named, but he will be keen to get back in the win column after he was soundly beaten by Rolly Romero last time out in Times Square.

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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