Adrian Peterson is back in the news for fighting.
Now, he didn’t rematch Le’Veon Bell in a celebrity boxing match, but instead got into a public fight over a poker hand.
Peterson was playing poker at JokerStars in Houston, Texas in late May. The former NFL running back is shown in a video sent to TMZ in a dispute while playing poker. He exchanged words with another player, and the situation escalated from there.
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Here is what we know about Peterson’s fist fight over poker.
Adrian Peterson fight, explained
Since retiring from the NFL, Peterson has reportedly become an avid poker player. He enjoys playing at JokerStars in Houston, which is a social club that frequently offers poker games.
The former running back told TMZ that he actually got into the fight with a friend. They disagreed at the table and eventually squared up.
Former #NFL superstar #AdrianPeterson got into a fistfight with a poker player following a dispute over a hand … and #TMZSports has obtained video of the tussle. pic.twitter.com/WdhcZFHwBt
— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) June 19, 2025
It looks like Peterson was on the receiving end of some solid hits at the start, but finally got some in before the fight got broken up. The former running back told TMZ that, “Me and the guy, we’re cool. We’ve known each other. It was literally like a brother situation. We agreed to disagree, we had our words, and we threw blows — and that was it.”
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Both of the combatants emerged with bloody spots on their faces. Peterson maintains that his injury actually came from his falling into a chair. He said that alcohol was involved, but not the cause of why they fought. Peterson said that he regrets the situation, and neither of the players was reprimanded by JokersStars, per TMZ.
Adrian Peterson boxing career
This isn’t the first fight that Peterson has had since he has been retired, although it is the first unsanctioned fight he has had.
In a battle of former NFL running backs, he had a celebrity boxing match against Le’Veon Bell. Peterson lost that fight in the fifth round when he was dropped by Bell. The fight ended in a TKO after the ref wouldn’t let Peterson continue.
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