UFC legend Nate Diaz issued a statement following his recent TKO loss to Mike Perry at the MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano event.
Perry beat up Diaz for 10 minutes before legendary cutman Jacob “Stitch” Duran made the call to stop the fight due to cuts on Diaz’s forehead that caused blood to run into his eyes and affect his vision. Therefore, Perry was declared the winner by second-round TKO. But with the lack of a clear and conclusive stoppage, MVP MMA promoter Nakisa Bidarian said he wanted to run the fight back.
Nate Diaz Issues Statement After TKO Loss to Mike Perry
Taking to his social media 10 days after the loss to Perry, Diaz released a statement where he gave his thoughts on the loss to Perry. According to Diaz, the fact that he has been so inactive in recent years hurt him, and he believes that things will go differently if and when he fights Perry again.
“I wasn’t happy with my inactivity, but a lack of opponents will do that. It was easy to get up for me in this fight. Now I think it’ll be even easier to get up for him. Either way, shoutout to Mike on the win and for getting me off my ass. Now I’ve got a target. Hunting season. Take the (expletive) out #WatchUKnowAboutThat #kill #HuntingSeason #Rematch #Golden1CenterSacramento,” Diaz wrote on his Instagram.
Diaz referred to Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center in his post, a venue that Bidarian said that MVP MMA could hold their second event at. Sacramento is close to Diaz’s hometown of Stockton, California, so this rematch would give him home-field advantage if and when it goes down.
Even though Diaz was clearly the inferior fighter in their first fight, it does feel like we are trending toward a rematch between him and Perry, and we’ll see what happens later this year as MVP MMA hopes to hold another event.
How Can Nate Diaz Change Things Up in a Rematch?
The first fight between Diaz and Perry was not trending well in Diaz’s direction, even well before the cut stoppage. So, what can he do differently in the rematch?
Potentially, Diaz should try to take this fight to the ground. As he stated, this was his first MMA fight in nearly four years, as he’s competed in boxing twice since leaving the UFC, so maybe he forgot that his ground game is his most potent way to finish fights in mixed martial arts.
In MMA, Diaz has 21 career victories, and 12 of them are by submission. Although Perry has good takedown defense, he has been submitted before. Diaz, therefore, would be wise to pursue the ground game if and when a rematch goes down, as the standup did not go his way in the first fight.
Most fans and observers don’t believe that a rematch between Diaz and Perry will go any differently, and based on how their first meeting went, it’s fair to feel that way. But as far as Diaz goes, if he can make the right adjustments, then this is a fight he can win. We’ll see if it ends up happening, but it’s certainly trending in the right direction as Diaz hopes to get one back on his rival.
Nate Diaz Issues Statement After TKO Loss to Mike Perry