Former UFC star Mike Perry wants to continue his winning streak in bare-knuckle boxing by taking on his biggest name yet; Nate Diaz.
The pair were once fully rostered UFC welterweights, but having both left the promotion are now looking for options in various different disciplines. Diaz quit MMA's top outfit after 15 years under their banner, while Perry has been on a hot streak since his departure from the company in the middle of last year.
Diaz will still have to wait out his three-month non-compete clause after finishing his contract with a submission victory over Tony Ferguson, and is likely to have myriad options across many disciplines. But he could fancy the challenge of Perry, who has won three times including a stunning BKFC victory over Michael 'Venom' Page in London.
Perry made his first fight callout in an Instagram video, saying: "Nate, where you at dog? Let's fire up." He followed it up with a tweet adding: "Now is my time to make noise. I have no excuses so I’m calling out all the best fights the fans can be interested in. I want to make waves. Been fighting my whole life and I always will no matter what."
Diaz's future is still unclear, but the hottest rumour has been that he will fight Jake Paul in a professional boxing match, with gloves, once the YouTube star has got through Anderson Silva in October. It is expected that Diaz will appear ringside at that fight, with both of the main event fighters being viewed as potential opponents.
However, BKFC are known to offer big money deals, and have been able to in the past attract the likes of Page, Artem Lobov and former world champion boxer Paulie Malignaggi to their organisation. And president David Feldman recently admitted he would be interested in signing Diaz. "I can't tell you whether he's coming or not, but I can tell you that we want him here at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, and we're going to do everything we can do to get him a bare-knuckle fight," he said.
Would Mike Perry beat Nate Diaz in a bare-knuckle boxing match? Let us know your opinion in the comments section below!
Meanwhile, Diaz has indicated that he wants to leave the promotion and "take over" boxing, before returning in the future and becoming world champion. "All I know is it's been a love-hate relationship with UFC for as long as I've been in this f***ing company," Diaz told Joe Rogan during his immediate post-fight interview. "But I love UFC.
"I want to get out of the UFC for a minute and show all these UFC fighters how to take over and own up another sport. How you're supposed to do it. Conor McGregor didn't know how to do it. None of these other fighters know how to do it. I'm going to go out there, take over another profession and become the best at that. Show everybody I'm the best at that and then I'm going to be right the f*** back to get a motherf***ing UFC title. The best title in the world."
