Getty Mike Perry looks on during his welterweight bout against Alex Oliveira.
Ex-UFC superstar Nate Diaz will get courted for a fight with Mike Perry in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
Diaz is coming off an impressive win over former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 this past Saturday. He finally got the chance to complete the last outing on his contract with the promotion after calling for free agency over a year ago. Following the victory, Diaz expressed his desire to compete in different sports besides mixed martial arts.
In the latest edition of “The BKFC Show,” the official podcast of BKFC, company founder and president David Feldman shared his plans to bring the grizzled veteran under his banner.
“I can’t tell you whether he’s coming or not, but I can tell you that we want him here at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, and we’re going to do everything we can do to get him a bare-knuckle fight,” Feldman said via Sports Illustrated.
Feldman wants Diaz in a matchup with former UFC fighter Perry.
“I think that the fans would absolutely love to see – both have the same type of personality, both just guys that keep fighting – Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry would be a fan’s dream fight,” Feldman said.
Diaz Launched His Fight Promotion Real Fight Inc.
Diaz launched his own combat sports promotion, Real Fight Inc., before his exit from the UFC. He intends to host MMA, boxing, and submission grappling bouts under the new organization and is yet to announce an official debut event.
His team released an official statement after confirming the news right before the start of fight week.
“Nate will be applying for his promotors license in the coming weeks to form Real Fight, Inc., a new promotion that will focus on promoting combat sports shows, specifically boxing, MMA and BJJ. The new venture has no bearing on his status as a fighter, where he will continue to be very active. Real Fight, Inc. is his expansion into the business side of the sport where he has been a fixture for close to 20 years.
“The promotion will look attract fighters from around the world, whether it be up and coming prospects or household names who fit the brand of “Real Ninjas. Real Fighters. Real Shit.”
Diaz Hinted at a UFC Return for the Title
Following his win over Ferguson, Diaz talked about the 15 years he spent fighting for the promotion. He made a case for himself as the best fighter of all time and hinted that he would be back to cross some more things off the list.
“At the end of the day, I love the UFC,” Diaz said in the post-fight octagon interview. “Shoutout to Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta, and Hunter Campbell for giving me the opportunity, and the platform the whole time for everybody and for myself. I feel like right now, I’ve had the longest career in the UFC, and I’ve had the most successful one out of everybody. I outdid everyone on pay. I outdid everybody on surviving.
“I want to get out of the UFC for a minute and show all these UFC fighters how to take over and own up another sport how you are supposed to do it. Conor McGregor did not know how to do it, and none of these other fighters know how to do it.
“So, I’m going to go out there and take over another profession and become the best at that. Show everybody I’m the best at that and I’m going to be right the f*** back here to get a motherf****** UFC title, the best title in the world.”