Ex-UFC star Nate Diaz to return for MVP’s MMA debut

Nate Diaz will compete in an MMA fight for the first time in nearly four years when he faces BKFC’s “King of Violence” Mike Perry in a five-round welterweight showdown as part of Most Valuable Promotions’ May 16 MMA event on Netflix, headlined by Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano, the promotion confirmed with ESPN on Monday.

Diaz-Perry joins Rousey-Carano and Francis Ngannou’s heavyweight tilt with Philipe Lins to make MVP’s first MMA event at Intuit Dome Los Angeles a triple-headliner.

“MVP delivered the most-viewed boxing event since the advent of cable, and now we’re set to break records again with the biggest viewership in MMA history with the addition of Diaz vs Perry to Rousey vs Carano and Ngannou vs Lins,” Nakisa Bidarian, CEO of Most Valuable Promotions, said in a statement. “Nate Diaz is the Real BMF, and Mike Perry is the King of Violence – this will be a war from the first press conference all the way to the end when one of them has their hand raised.”

The immensely popular Diaz, 40, last competed in MMA in Sept. 2022 when he defeated Tony Ferguson at UFC 279. Since then, he has taken a detour into boxing with a unanimous decision loss to Jake Paul in 2023 and a majority decision win over Jorge Masvidal in 2024. Diaz, out of Stockton, California, remains one of the most popular figures in combat sports with wins over Anthony Pettis, Donald Cerrone and a star-making rivalry with Conor McGregor, who he famously submitted in 2016. Diaz fought for the UFC’s symbolic ‘BMF’ title in a losing effort to Jorge Masvidal in 2019. His return to MMA will be against an opponent who fought in the UFC but has had a meteoric rise in bare knuckle boxing.

“Glad to be in action. It’s time,” Diaz said in a statement. “Don’t forget where this all came from. I got plans on doing a lot more in the next 10 years, no matter where it is. Time to set the bar again, so get ready for a new takeover again and again until the end of time.”

“Platinum” Mike Perry fought in the UFC until 2021 and had a record of 14-8 as a mixed martial artist before successfully transitioning to the world of bare knuckle, where he is 6-0 with wins over Michael “Venom” Page, Jeremy Stephens, Luck Rockhold and Eddie Alvarez. His success earned him the symbolic “King of Violence” championship. Like Diaz, Perry also took a detour into boxing and was stopped in the sixth round by Jake Paul in July 2024.

“The King of Violence returns to MMA to elbow his opponent in the f–king face,” Perry said in a statement. “Saturday, May 16th, on Netflix, Nate Diaz is going lights out.”

The fight will be contested under the Unified Rules of MMA inside of a hexagon cage for five five-minute rounds.

“It’s an absolutely massive night of fights in Los Angeles on Saturday, May 16th, as we continue building some of the biggest global events in combat sports,” Bidarian continued. “Thank you to Netflix for believing in our vision. The future of MMA is bright.”