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Nate Diaz faces Mike Perry in the co-main event of MVP MMA 1 on Saturday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. This marks Diaz's return to MMA after leaving the UFC in September 2022.
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Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry prediction, pick for MVP MMA 1
Nate Diaz and Mike Perry meet in the co-feature of MVP MMA 1 Saturday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
Diaz (21-13) competes in his first MMA bout since exiting the UFC in September 2022. His last MMA bout was a submission of Tony Ferguson at UFC 279. Since then, he's competed in two boxing bouts: a unanimous decision loss vs. Jake Paul and a majority decision win over Jorge Masvidal.
Perry (14-8) also competes in his first MMA bout since his UFC exit in April 2021. His last MMA bout was a unanimous decision loss against Daniel Rodriguez at UFC on ABC 2. Perry has become the King of Violence under the BKFC banner, winning all six of his bareknuckle boxing fights. He also competed under the custom rules at Triad Combat and was stopped by Paul in the sixth round of their boxing bout.
The co-headliner on Netflix features a potential war at welterweight between the beloved Nate Diaz and the notorious Mike Perry.
Neither man has been active in the MMA scene since leaving the UFC, but both have stayed active with forms of boxing.
The more active combatant, Perry, has apparently found his calling as a bare-knuckle fighter in the BKFC – an organization in which Perry has done well in. However, when it comes to striking with southpaws, Perry has had some notable struggles.
As seen in the clip linked above, Perry is practically blind to jabs and crosses from the southpaw stance. Diaz might be the definitive "unc" in this equation, but the freshly turned 41-year-old appears to be in excellent shape heading into this fight.
So long as Diaz is operating at even half of his post-prime potential, then I suspect that this is a winnable fight for him.
Perry, who traditionally gets into trouble when fights extend, has been making his money in a sport that operates with two-minute time frames and has never been scheduled to go five five-minute rounds in MMA.
Should Diaz's usual savvy and showmanship allow him to extend this fight, then I suspect he can steal away the proverbial steering wheel from Perry.
The official pick is for Diaz to score a win by club-and-sub come the start of Round 4.
The fight is scheduled for Saturday at MVP MMA 1.
Nate Diaz has an MMA record of 21 wins and 13 losses.
Before MVP MMA 1, Nate Diaz's last MMA fight was a submission win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 279.

WSL sees legendary players like Bright and Kerr move on, marking a new chapter.
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The oddsmakers and the public are favoring the BKFC champion, listing Perry -215 and Diaz +164 via FanDuel.
Diaz and Perry are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 10:40 p.m. ET. The fight streams live on Netflix.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: MVP MMA 1: Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry prediction, pick, time