Nate Diaz: Mike Perry 'biggest name outside UFC' that I could fight

NEW YORK –  Nate Diaz sees Mike Perry as the biggest fight available to him, and that's why the two are fighting next month.

Diaz, a combat sports star and former UFC fighter, is making his return to MMA on May 16 at Most Valuable Promotion's inaugural MMA event that's set to stream live on Netflix from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. It's a fight that's drawn many eyeballs, but one that's hard to match for Diaz in today's current MMA landscape. Diaz would like to be more active in both boxing and MMA, but he feels there are few options for him in the fight game.

"There is no names, that's the problem," Diaz told MMA Junkie and other reporters in a media scrum. "If there was somebody to box, I'd be boxing them. I think Mike Perry was the biggest name outside the UFC I could do. I want to box the best and fight the best of the best in MMA. That's why I got Perry, and that's what I'm looking to do."

Apart from having many notable names such as Diaz and Perry, MVP's MMA event has received plenty of attention due to how the card has been promoted. Former UFC champions Ronda Rousey and Francis Ngannou have been vocal about the lack of pay from the UFC. Again, at Wednesday's press conference, Rousey brought forth the subject.

Diaz, who at times was at odds with the brass during his UFC tenure, didn't jump in on the chatter. He feels his turn already passed.

"I think it's good, and they're the ones doing it," Diaz said. "I think I feel like, 'It's fight time. Let's get that sh*t out of the way.' Like I was trying to say, nobody was jumping on board when I was l going. No one helped me. Not to be selfish or be a f*cker or anything, but like, help yourself. That's who's going to get it, you know what I'm saying. I think everything is about, not to selfish again, but it's all about you. It ain't everybody else's responsibility to give a f*ck about you. This is all on me. What's up? F*ck you, I'm getting mine. No one will follow? OK, no one follows. It is all on you, so that might help."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Nate Diaz: Mike Perry 'biggest name outside UFC' that I could fight