Dana White’s old needle mover has officially moved on — at least for now.
Last week, it was revealed that longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fan favorite Nate Diaz signed with Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) and is going to collide with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) superstar Mike Perry in two months in a triple-headliner for MVP MMA 1 inside Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, Calif., streaming exclusively on Netflix.
The move came as a surprise.
Diaz hasn’t competed in MMA since submitting
Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 in Sept. 2022, closing out his UFC contract on a high note (watch highlights). Since then, he’s explored boxing — losing a decision to Jake Paul in 2023 before picking up a win over Jorge Masvidal in 2024.
Still, there had been growing chatter about Diaz potentially returning to the UFC to complete his trilogy with Conor McGregor later this year.
And according to the UFC head honcho, those talks were very real.
“He came in and met with me a couple of weeks ago,” White said during the UFC London post-fight press conference. “We had a good time, and I think Nate just got an offer he couldn’t refuse. I haven’t talked to him since then, but I’m happy for him.”
Translation: MVP paid up.
For what it’s worth, Perry recently revealed that his upcoming bout with Diaz will be the biggest payday of his career — which likely means Diaz is cashing in even bigger.
Despite losing out on one of its biggest stars, White didn’t sound bitter about Diaz’s decision.
“I don’t know,” White said when asked if this affects Diaz’s chances of returning to the UFC. “Let him do his thing. Let’s see how the fight plays out, and we’ll see what happens.”
For now, Diaz is doing exactly that — his own thing.
And as for McGregor vs. Diaz 3?
That dream just took a major hit.
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