Nate Diaz’s win against Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 marked his last appearance in the Octagon. After that, he tested his luck in the squared ring, losing to Jake Paul in 2023, but later winning a boxing bout against Jorge Masvidal. Still, the fighting community has been yearning to see the Stockton native return to the world of MMA. After all, before stepping into boxing, Diaz became a free agent and was linked to BKFC, where he almost fought Eddie Alvarez and Mike Perry.

Back in 2022, David Feldman, the head of BKFC, planned on making the fight between Alvarez and Diaz. Talking to MMA Junkie, ‘The Underground King’ said, “I almost fought Nate in Mexico when I was fighting Gilbert Melendez. I confronted him in Mexico City about grilling me and doing some weird little kid bulls— and we got into it then UFC broke it all up… He’s a free agent, I’m over here and I’d love to fight someone like him after this.” 

Mike Perry was also in the picture alongside Diaz in 2022. He quoted, “Nate Diaz, bro, don’t be scared homie. I know you still got a lot of fight left in the tank and bare-knuckle is a real challenge, a real opportunity for both of us. Let’s give the fans what they want to see and I think it’s you and me in bare-knuckle.” But since the Stockton native was interested in other sports at the time, things didn’t really move forward. However, hope for Diaz’s return has been rekindled once again.

Taking to the Overdogs Podcast, ‘Platinum’ Perry weighed in on the talks of his return. He said, “I know that I’m supposed to have some news mid July. I may have said in the past early July. Maybe Nate Diaz sometimes, huh? We talked about that, yeah. I was talking with DAZN yesterday. I was like, ‘Man, Nate Diaz, Mike Perry. There’s a fight there somewhere.’ But these guys wouldn’t do it bare-knuckle.” 

That’s when Perry’s co-host, Mac Mally, pointed out the one thing that would stop Diaz’s return. He claimed that his face would simply bust open in a bare-knuckle fight. The reason? The former UFC contender has damaged his face so much that his face is now covered with scar tissue. Which means, even a lesser force can now bust him open. And that’s not something that ‘Platinum’ wants. He opined, “We don’t want a fight to stop because of something like that.” 

But is there any chance for us to see Nate Diaz fight again in Conor McGregor’s co-owned $411M bare-knuckle fight promotion? Let’s see what David Feldman has to say about that, shall we?

BKFC boss expresses his concerns about Nate Diaz fighting at the promotion

Not too long ago, Feldman expressed his desire to bring Diaz back into the headlines with a possible fight against Josh Thomson. The former Strikeforce champion has already fought the Stockton native once before under the banner of UFC. But now, there are rumors of them planning to box all over the internet. But what does Feldman have to say about the rematch between he two? 

Following the events at BKFC Texas, reporters asked the bossman regarding the rematch. And he said, “I’ve talked to Nate a bunch of times. Nate Diaz is a warrior, but he gets cut a lot. And that’s his fear of bare knuckle, which is getting cut too much.” However, he understood that the fans were eagerly waiting for the return of the free agent. He continued, “But I think a lot of people are calling him out right now in Bare Knuckle, and I think I’m gonna have a conversation with him this week. So, we’ll see how that one goes.”

Nate Diaz exited the UFC with a record of 21 wins and 13 losses. His battles with ‘The Notorious’ and Tony Ferguson remain some of the most talked-about fights in the MMA community. His return is something fans continue to hope for. However, Diaz himself hasn’t shown much interest in making a comeback.