Despite suffering just his third-ever TKO loss at the hands of Mike Perry on Saturday night, Nate Diaz insists the pair have unfinished business inside the cage.
The welterweight showdown between Diaz and Perry served as the co-main event of the inaugural MVP MMA card on Netflix, as the streaming giant made a splash in its first foray into mixed martial arts.
Headlined by a clash between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, the event is said to have garnered a total of more than 17 million viewers and averaged 12.4 million viewers across the triple main event, per a tweet from the company.
In his highly-anticipated return to the cage and more than three years since his last fight, Diaz enjoyed some success in the early going against fellow UFC veteran Perry, landing an impressive takedown from the clinch and threatening submissions on the mat.
However, Perry delivered an onslaught of strikes in response, connecting with a number of elbows in close that opened a large cut over Diaz's right eye and left both fighters covered in his blood.
Prior to the start of the third round it was ruled that the cut was too severe for Diaz to be able to continue, and while the 41-year-old insisted he understood the decision, he insisted that he wants to rematch Perry as soon as possible.
"Yeah I was mad, but I understand. My eye was leaking out a lot and they knew I wasn’t going to be able to get nothing done out there," Diaz said.
"I don’t think he would have done much more either, but I was blinded by blood on the right side."
He continued: "Right now, yeah, [the rematch] is what I want ASAP. Heal up and I’ll start running on Monday.
"I got a lot of making up to do.”
Despite being renowned for his elite cardio throughout his career, Diaz visibly tired throughout the course of the opening two rounds, as Perry repeatedly targeted his body.
In the aftermath, the one-time UFC title challenger admitted that he has yet to get back to his best following an extended break from competition.
“I didn’t actually feel good at all," he added. "I felt like s***. I just started back in it, I just got back to MMA, they were asking me how I been.
"I’m like, I never was gone, but then as I got closer I realized…MMA’s hard work. It’s a lot of work.
"I felt like I just started to callous everything up, and my body started to get hard. Everything started to move right together. Started to fall into rhythm and then it was time to fight."
