Ex-UFC star Nate Diaz to return to octagon for MVP's MMA debut - ESPN

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, Calif., 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