Nate Diaz returns to MMA on Netflix — as MVP promises record viewership, the sport’s lines blur
nate diaz is set to compete in an MMA fight for the first time in nearly four years, and the setting is not a traditional promotion’s pay-per-view pipeline but a May 16 (ET) Most Valuable Promotions event on Netflix—an arrangement being sold as both a comeback and a bid to redefine how major MMA is packaged and consumed.
What exactly is being staged on May 16 (ET)—and why now?
Most Valuable Promotions has announced a five-round welterweight MMA fight between nate diaz and BKFC’s “King of Violence” Mike Perry. The bout will take place on May 16 (ET) at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles as part of MVP’s first MMA event on Netflix.
The card is built as a triple-headliner: Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano at the top, Francis Ngannou in a heavyweight bout with Philipe Lins, and Diaz-Perry as the third marquee fight. The promotion has framed the night as an expansion of its combat-sports ambitions rather than a one-off: MVP leadership has publicly tied the Netflix event to claims of historic reach and future growth for MMA on the platform.
For Diaz, the return comes after a stretch away from MMA. He last competed in September 2022, defeating Tony Ferguson at UFC 279. Since then, Diaz has boxed twice: a unanimous decision loss to Jake Paul in 2023 and a majority decision win over Jorge Masvidal in 2024. distributed by the promotion, Diaz said: “Glad to be in action. It’s time… I got plans on doing a lot more in the next 10 years, no matter where it is. Time to set the bar again. ”
Why is Mike Perry the opponent—and what are the rules?
Mike Perry enters as a figure shaped by multiple combat-sport lanes. The promotion describes Perry as BKFC’s “King of Violence, ” a symbolic designation tied to his success in bare knuckle boxing. Perry previously fought in the UFC until 2021; he carried a 14-8 record in mixed martial arts before shifting into bare knuckle, where he is 6-0 with wins over Michael “Venom” Page, Jeremy Stephens, Luck Rockhold, and Eddie Alvarez. He also boxed and was stopped by Jake Paul in the sixth round in July 2024.
The Diaz-Perry matchup will be contested under the Unified Rules of MMA, inside a hexagon cage, scheduled for five five-minute rounds. Perry, released through MVP, framed the return in blunt terms, saying he is coming back to MMA “to elbow his opponent in the f–king face, ” and added that on May 16 (ET) “nate diaz is going lights out. ”
The structure of the bout—five rounds in a cage under Unified Rules—positions it as more than an exhibition add-on. At the same time, the pairing also reflects the broader promotional strategy: two widely recognizable personalities who have each recently crossed into boxing and other rule sets, now being brought back into MMA under a new banner on a mainstream streaming platform.
What is MVP selling—and what questions does it raise?
Most Valuable Promotions is not being subtle about the stakes. Nakisa Bidarian, CEO of Most Valuable Promotions, described the Netflix event as an opportunity to “break records” and claimed MVP previously delivered “the most-viewed boxing event since the advent of cable. ” In a separate statement, Bidarian said the addition of Diaz vs. Perry alongside Rousey vs. Carano and Ngannou vs. Lins sets the promotion up for “the biggest viewership in MMA history, ” while also thanking Netflix “for believing in our vision” and adding: “The future of MMA is bright. ”
Those declarations create a clear pressure point: the event is being framed not only as a fight card but as a test of a distribution model—MMA presented as a platform-scale spectacle with triple-headliner branding. The promotion’s language suggests the business goal is to translate attention previously generated in boxing into MMA, using recognizable names and a high-profile venue in Los Angeles.
Verified fact: the promotion has confirmed the fights, the venue, the Unified Rules format, the five-round structure for Diaz-Perry, and the Netflix distribution for May 16 (ET). Verified fact: Diaz’s most recent MMA bout was in September 2022, and both Diaz and Perry have pursued boxing during their time away from MMA.
Informed analysis: the event’s promotional narrative—record viewership, a “future of MMA” claim, and triple-headliner construction—signals a deliberate attempt to make the packaging itself part of the story, not just the matchups. It also highlights how porous the boundaries have become between MMA, bare knuckle, and boxing for star talent, with MVP positioning itself as a broker between those lanes.
The measurable outcome on May 16 (ET) will be competitive and commercial at once: whether the five-round welterweight fight featuring nate diaz delivers the kind of mainstream gravity MVP is promising, and whether the triple-headliner model becomes a repeatable blueprint for Netflix-based MMA events.
