Jon Jones vs. Nate Diaz? Sort of.
The MMA stars have signed on to serve as coaches of opposing teams on the second season of the Russian fight program ALF Reality, the brainchild of influencer Alfredo Auditore.
It’s unclear in what will be required of Jones and Diaz in their coaching roles, but if the antics of Season 1 coaches Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan are any indication, they should have plenty of opportunities to show off their personalities and butt heads.
Sterling stepped in as a replacement for friend and teammate Merab Dvalishvili to coach opposite Yan on ALF Reality 1. The pairing gave the fighters the opportunity to revisit their two-fight rivalry, which saw Sterling win the bantamweight title from Yan via disqualification, a moment the Russian did not let Sterling forget.
Jones, the UFC’s heavyweight champion, takes on another project as he awaits his next booking, which appears to be contingent on his willingness to fight interim champion Tom Aspinall, a matchup Jones has shown little interest in. He most recently fought at UFC 309 this past November, where he successfully defended his title against Stipe Miocic via third-round TKO.
Diaz has stayed busy since parting ways with the UFC in 2022 following a 15-year run with the promotion. He has competed in professional boxing twice, losing a unanimous decision to Jake Paul in 2023 and then scoring a majority decision win over fellow MMA standout Jorge Masvidal in 2024.
He won’t fight Aspinall. But, he’ll coach a fucking Russian reality show.
Is this in Russia? How long before Nate gets locked up for drugs while there?
Something Brewin
Waiting for things to ‘play out’ seems to be the UFC fan’s lot in 2025, as there’s no sense of urgency anywhere in the promotion across any of the divisions.
On the plus side, Jones seems like he’s giving the cameras a show. Alf Reality MMA seems more than happy to show the full spectrum of Russian MMA, warts and all. Last season we saw Aljamain Sterling get choked unconscious by his own teammate. Who knows what craziness “Bones” will get up to in Thailand? The first video clip we have shows a squinty eyed Jones riding on the back of a scooter, bunching up the rider’s hair so he can grip it like handlebars.
We have good reason to worry about Jones drinking and the chaos that can ensue if he’s enjoying himself a bit too much. Add in reality TV show enablers looking to create viral television and it all seems like a recipe for another scandal that could push UFC to strip Jones again — which would be the fourth time they’ve done it, and the fifth time he’s dropped a belt outside the cage.
he’s so fucking gay in the scariest way possible. he for sure fucked that guy.
LOL at Nate coaching
Dont be scared comrade!