Doctor Behind Nate Diaz Stoppage at UFC 244 Says He Fears for His Safety

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Dr. Nitin K. Sethi, the doctor who stopped the main event on Saturday night at UFC 244 between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, has been the victim of online abuse and now fears for his safety as a result of his decision.

Sethi ruled that the cut Diaz suffered above his right eye was too significant for him to continue and instructed referee Dan Miragliotta to stop the fight at the end of the third round.

In an appalling turn of events, Sethi told MMAFighting.com that he’s been a victim of abuse and threats online and people have been calling his practice to abuse him and his staff.

”I’m a very good neurologist and a very good doctor, and calling me f*cking scum online and calling my office staff and yelling at them, threatening me; I fear for my health and safety,” he told MMA Fighting. “Somebody’s going to get hurt, and it’s probably going to be me this time.

“People don’t realize what they do when they talk about these things. But that’s the hard reality of this sport.”

Sethi said he looked at the injury from a holistic point-of-view taking into account how the fight had gone so far and believed it was in the best interest of Diaz’s health and safety to call the fight.

”I made an objective call based on my assessment of the fighter,” he said. “Not just the cut, but the overall assessment of the fighter (and) how the fight was going. Once I felt I could not guarantee the health and safety going forward, I had to make a tough call.

”The moment I lose my objectivity and I’m concerned how my actions are viewed by the UFC, by the fans, by the media, then I cease to be a ringside physician, and I cease to be doing my job. I have to be objective, and objectively, you make a call.”