Perry’s Pressure Left Diaz Unable to Continue
Mike Perry defeated Nate Diaz by TKO through a corner stoppage after round two on May 16, 2026. The bout took place at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, on the Netflix event headlined by Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano.
The matchup and early action
The matchup brought together two fighters widely associated with durable, aggressive performances. Perry had built his recent reputation in bare-knuckle boxing, while Diaz returned to an MMA setting for this assignment.
Once the action began, the contest developed through repeated close exchanges. Perry attacked with hooks, elbows, knees and body shots, forcing Diaz to absorb sustained damage while continuing to answer.
The decisive developments
Diaz remained active with jabs and combinations despite the blood and punishment. His willingness to fire back kept the exchanges competitive in appearance, but Perry repeatedly produced the more visibly damaging moments.
Late in the second round, Perry swarmed Diaz against the cage and put him down. The bout ended during the interval, with the official result recorded at 5:00 of round two after Diaz’s corner stopped the fight.
What the result meant
The result awarded Perry the co-main event without a third round or final scorecards. It also distinguished the finish from a conventional mid-round referee stoppage: Diaz’s corner chose not to send him out for the third.
Rousey subsequently submitted Carano in seventeen seconds, while Francis Ngannou had already knocked out Philipe Lins. Perry’s victory supplied the longer and bloodier of the three featured contests on the broadcast.
