Mike Perry appears to like the idea of fighting Nate Diaz for BKFC.
With Diaz now a free agent after submitting Tony Ferguson this past Saturday at UFC 279, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship president David Feldman already has his eyes on the superstar from Stockton, Calif., calling Diaz vs. Perry a “fan’s dream fight.”
Former UFC welterweight Mike Perry wants to fight Nate Diaz in a bare-knuckle boxing bout under the BKFC banner. Perry signed with the promotion in 2021 after his UFC contract expired, and Diaz has just fulfilled his contractual obligations with Dana White’s promotion.
The Stockton native tried to fight out his contract for a long time and was finally matched up against Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of UFC 279. Due to Chimaev’s massive weight miss, Diaz fought fellow veteran Tony Ferguson and won via guillotine choke in the fourth round. Following the fight, the TUF season five winner said he would try his hand at another sport. While he didn’t explicitly single out any one sport, he did mention boxing and jiu-jitsu.
After Diaz’s victory and speech at UFC 279, BKFC founder David Feldman proposed a Diaz vs. Perry fight in his promotion. ‘Platinum’ voiced his support for the idea and said in a post:
“Now is my time to make noise. I have no excuses so I’m calling out all the best fights the fans can be interested in. I want to make waves. Been fighting my whole life and I always will no matter what.”
See the post below:
This came after ‘Platinum’ already issued a call out to Nate Diaz in an Instagram video.
Watch the clip below (swipe aside):
Nate Diaz may not accept a bare-knuckle fight
After his victory at UFC 279 over ‘El Cucuy’, Diaz made a remark that may not have been entirely expected from him. The Stockton native stated he didn’t want to get cut anymore in his fights.
Nick and Nate Diaz have been known to bleed early owing to excessive scar tissue around their eyes, and images of a bloody Diaz brother are too familiar for longtime MMA fans. However, it would appear that at the age of 37, the younger Diaz brother has had enough of losing blood owing to cuts received in fights. Speaking to Megan Olivi backstage after the pay-per-view, Diaz said:
“I have the pressure on because my main goal, especially with Khamzat, is come out and not get any more cuts on my face. I’m done with that. I didn’t want to be cut anymore and it’s a new mission that I never had before in the past… And then they switched it to this guy [Tony Ferguson], who’s most likely in the UFC to cut you.”
Tony Ferguson is notorious for making his opponents bleed profusely and leaving them with cuts and bruises. However, Diaz stayed true to his goal and walked out of his fight against ‘El Cucuy’ without any cuts on his face. Given that he’s “done” with getting cut, it may be unlikely that Nate Diaz will accept a bare-knuckle boxing fight where the chances of getting gashed are significantly high.
Watch Diaz’s interview with Megan Olivi below: