THE Challenge star Nelson Thomas was punched in the face after “flirting with a married woman” in a Las Vegas casino.
The 33-year-old revealed he suffered a broken nose and shared nasty photos of his bloody injuries, as well as of his surgery.
Nelson – who has appeared on several seasons of The Challenge – said he was “sucker punched” and “kicked in the face” by a man trying to steal his jewelry.
According to TMZ, however, he met a woman at ARIA Resort & Casino and started talking to her in the valet area, enraging her husband Kevin Dixon.
Kevin allegedly punched and kicked Nelson, before making off with his $10,000 chain necklace.
Cops reportedly saw footage of Nelson talking to the woman, then going down after one punch before Kevin allegedly hit him again.
Kevin was later arrested for battery and grand larceny.
Nelson shared his ordeal on Instagram, revealing his nose was so swollen that doctors refused to operate on him until the swelling went down.
The MTV star wrote: “To make a long story short, I was in Las Vegas and was sucker punched & kicked in the face because the guy was trying steal my jewelry.
“Yes the police caught him but I was left with a broken nose. It was so swollen that no doctor wanted to see me until the swelling went down.”
He added: “@drchamata saved my a** and I can’t thank him enough. As you can see in the video, he is the best at what he does. I’m happy with the result.”
The Challenge contestants have faced a slew of scandals over the years, most recently with Ashley Mitchell.
ASHLEY’S DEPARTURE
Viewers were left baffled when the 34-year-old was removed from the competition after breaking an unnamed rule earlier this month.
The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies host TJ Lavin said in the episode: “As you’ve seen, Ashley is no longer at headquarters.
“Ashley has broken one of our rules. Because of that, Ashley is no longer able to stay in the game.
“She has been deactivated. She is no longer able to continue in this game for the rest of the season.”
MTV had no further comment about the exit so it is still not clear which rule or rules she broke.
FAN THEORIES
Fans flooded Twitter with speculation, with some alleging that Ashley had a “fight” with fellow contestant Josh Martinez which led to her departure.
Users claimed she “used inappropriate language” during an alleged row with Josh that went against show guidelines.
One fan asked, “Did Joshua get another person out for arguing?” while a second commented, “They had that fight! That’s why she’s not there anymore!”
Ashley didn’t disclose why she left – but she did admit on Twitter that she’s now taking “anger management classes” and vowed to “change” her “behavior.”
Several contestants have been cut from The Challenge over the past few seasons.
Last year, Dee Nguyen was edited out of The Challenge: Total Madness after making racially insensitive comments on Twitter amid the Black Lives Matter movement.
