Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry prediction, pick for MVP MMA 1

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.

Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry MVP MMA 1 preview

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.

Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry MVP MMA 1 expert pick, prediction

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.