Nate Diaz is stepping back into an MMA cage for the first time in nearly four years as he has agreed to face Mike Perry in a five-round welterweight bout on May 16 in Los Angeles, Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions announced Monday.

The fight will take place on the card headlined by Ronda Rousey versus Gina Carano at Intuit Dome and stream live on Netflix as part of MVP’s first MMA event.

Diaz, 40, last competed in MMA in September 2022, when he submitted Tony Ferguson at UFC 279. He holds a 21-13 career record, including 12 submission victories. Since his last MMA fight, Diaz has remained active through crossover boxing matches. He lost by decision to Paul in 2023 before beating Jorge Masvidal in 2024.

“Glad to be back in action. It’s time,” Diaz declared via social media. “Don’t forget where this all came from. I got plans on doing a lot more in the next 10 years, no matter where it is. Time to set the bar again, so get ready for a new takeover again and again until the end of time.”

Perry, 34, brings his own second-act resume. After leaving the UFC in 2021, he rebuilt his brand in bare-knuckle boxing, remaining unbeaten and earning the BKFC symbolic “King of Violence” championship, while also briefly exploring boxing, which ended with a stoppage loss to Paul in 2024. He has a career 14-8 MMA record with 11 knockout wins and a perfect 6-0 record in bare-knuckle fighting.

Diaz-Perry becomes the third pillar of a star-studded night that originated with Rousey and Carano. Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou is scheduled for a heavyweight fight with Philipe Lins.

“MVP delivered the most-viewed boxing event since the advent of cable, and now we’re set to break records again with the biggest viewership in MMA history with the addition of Diaz vs Perry to Rousey vs Carano and Ngannou vs Lins,” Nakisa Bidarian, MVP CEO, said in a statement. “Nate Diaz is the Real BMF, and Mike Perry is the King of Violence — this will be a war from the first press conference all the way to the end when one of them has their hand raised.”

–Field Level Media

A three-game winless streak has done little to compromise the Minnesota Wild’s solid playoff positioning.

Still, the locker room knows better than to get complacent as the stretch run nears.

A visit Tuesday to the slumping Chicago Blackhawks offers a chance for Minnesota to snap the skid and move closer to securing a postseason berth. The Wild are eager to seize it as they make the most of their current funk.

“The mood is good, I think. I truly do. I think adversity right now could be a positive,” defenseman Jake Middleton said. “We’ve got a lot of new bodies in the room. The lineup is kind of interchangeable game-to-game. Learning how to play in these types of situations could be a good thing for this group.”

Minnesota is entrenched in third place in the Central Division, six points behind the Dallas Stars and 14 ahead of the Utah Mammoth.

The Wild can thank the Blackhawks for preventing the Mammoth from creeping closer in the standings.

While Chicago is just 3-4-2 since play resumed after the Olympic break, all three victories during that span came against Utah.

After sweeping a home-and-home with the Mammoth last week, with both games requiring overtime, the Blackhawks were unable to sustain momentum Saturday in a 4-0 road loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Vegas beat Chicago goaltender Spencer Knight for three goals in the first 12 minutes. The Blackhawks allowed multiple power-play goals for the first time since Dec. 7.

“I don’t think we started well enough, pretty evidently,” Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic said. “They jumped on us quick. (Against) a good team like that, they’re hard to compete with once they get a lead.”

Minnesota can attest to the difficulty of emerging from early holes, as home losses to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday and New York Rangers on Saturday showed.

In Sunday’s 4-2 loss to visiting Toronto, the Maple Leafs struck for three goals in the middle period. Although Vladimir Tarasenko responded, scoring twice in 23 seconds to reach 700 career points, Minnesota fell short.

“Obviously when you’re down three, it feels like a huge mountain to climb,” Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt said. “But I thought we did an unbelievable job with sticking with what works for us and we continued to play the style of hockey that we want to play.

“We gave it a good push, but unfortunately (Sunday) it wasn’t enough.”

Tuesday marks the beginning of a home-and-home between the Blackhawks and Wild, who are set to conclude the season series on Thursday in Minnesota.

Minnesota defeated host Chicago 4-3 in overtime on Nov. 26 and earned a 4-3 shootout win at home on Jan. 27.

The Blackhawks expect defenseman Wyatt Kaiser (left shoulder) to play Tuesday after he missed the Vegas game due to injury.

Also set to return: former Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno. Tuesday is his first game in Chicago since the Blackhawks traded him to Minnesota on March 6.

Reunited with his brother Marcus, who is week-to-week with a lower body injury, Nick Foligno tallied one assist in his first five games with the Wild.

–Field Level Media

World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be the Opening Day starter when the Los Angeles Dodgers kick off the season against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks on March 26.

It will be the second straight Opening Day start for the right-handed Yamamoto, who was sensational in the 2025 postseason while helping Los Angeles win the World Series.

“It is a pretty easy decision, considering that it’s an honor to be the Opening Day starter,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Monday. “He started for us last year on the road. But for him to get that start on Opening Day at home, I think it’s going to be special.”

The Dodgers will be gunning to become the first team since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees to win three straight World Series crowns.

Yamamoto, 27, won three games in the 2025 World Series when Los Angeles beat the Toronto Blue Jays in a thrilling seven-game series.

He pitched a complete game 4-hitter as the Dodgers won Game 2, then tossed six innings in Game 6 as Los Angeles tied the series at three games apiece. On no rest, Yamamoto entered Game 7 in relief and pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings for another victory in the 11-inning finale.

Overall, Yamamoto went 5-1 with a 1.45 ERA in six appearances (five starts) in the 2025 postseason.

In the regular season, Yamamoto went 12-8 with a 2.49 ERA in 30 starts and finished third in National League Cy Young voting. He also was tabbed to the NL All-Star team.

Yamamoto enters the third season of a 12-year, $325 million contract. He is 19-10 with a 2.66 ERA in 48 starts in two seasons with the Dodgers and a stellar 7-1 with a 2.25 ERA in 10 postseason appearances (nine starts).

–Field Level Media