Mike Perry moved away from the bare-bones boxing ring.
Since retiring from the UFC in 2021, Perry has essentially been the poster boy for bare-knuckle fighting — more specifically, the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). However, after returning to the MMA world with two knockouts since May, Perry confirmed on Tuesday’s edition of “The Ariel Helwani Show” that his time with BKFC is over.
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“It’s good to get it out there. I have some feelings about it,” Perry told Uncrowned. “It’s like a ‘BK cheat code,’ man.” That bare password is similar to a cheat code, I guess. Those two-minute rounds, I’m good. it was fun. I’ve made some noise, and I’m ready for another challenge.
“Yes, I think MMA is in my foreseeable future, and I’m going to give it my best shot.”
Perry, 35, has focused primarily on the art of competitive boxing for the past five years and has found great success. “Platinum” went undefeated in six BKFC appearances, clinching the title of “King of Violence” after defeating former UFC champions Eddie Alvarez and Lucas Rockhold.
In MVP’s debut MMA event on Netflix this past May, Perry competed in MMA for the first time since his last UFC fight against Daniel Rodriguez in April 2021. Perry scored a medical stoppage after scoring a TKO in a lopsided business over seasoned veteran Nate Diaz, before defeating Brandon Jenkins on short notice at Duel: Arena in August.
Unfortunately for Perry, he suffered a shoulder injury mid-fight with Jenkins, leading to a first-round stoppage loss. However, Perry said Tuesday that he expects to be back in the MMA world for at least the next two years, as he teased his next move without yet sharing any details.
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“I’ll give something good a shot here,” said Perry, “and it’s only been two years, at least I won’t be back.” [to BKFC]so I took the fights to focus.”
Perry’s injury against Jenkins appeared to be a dislocated shoulder at the moment, and it was effective. Perry noted that he sustained a partial labral tear, which caused him to kneel on the ropes during an exchange with Jenkins.
Perry doesn’t expect to need the arm, as his doctors told him the muscles around the partial tear are still strong and supporting the area well.
“It was hard to lose, I guess. I’m doing well,” Perry said. “I’m just in training [today]while sparing the Latins. I have some rounds in. I still don’t do as many laps as I want, but that’s not because of my shoulder. I don’t know what I like more, I’m building slowly. I’m super humble right now. The game humbled me, and I was in this – I was trying to be great, and it’s like, I saw these things: you wouldn’t move if I didn’t give you something to do.
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“It’s like now, less pressure. I just want to be the healthiest for me, be my best, and can say what they want to me. I don’t want to be angry anymore about everything.
“I was trying to calm down when my shoulder went out in the ring,” Perry added. “I was trying to pull into it, and it just didn’t seem to feel better anywhere.”
Heading into Duel: Arena, Perry was supposed to face Dillon Danes. Or at least, until Danes retired from the battle two days later. The haul was just another one of many in the Dane’s competitive sports career.
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Despite that varied history, Perry still believed that he and Danes would fight in the building. Now that they have not done so, he is doing his best to refrain from carrying on hostilities. However, Perry also said that if Danis saw it, it would not be a friendly meeting.
“There’s no professional business going on between me and that guy. I’m upset with that guy,” Perry said. “But maybe I’m not right? Like I said, I have to learn to take things with a grain of salt.”
“Everybody said they were going to do it. I was like, ‘No, no way, no way.’ He’s coming, he’s coming.” But he doesn’t dig into me shamefully, and then he shows up with his nonsense talk and this and that. So I can’t be upset about things I can’t control.
“You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow,” Perry continued. “Yesterday’s history, tomorrow’s a mystery, and today’s a gift, or something like that. So, you see, I don’t want everything to happen in front of me.
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“Did he ever think he was fighting for the RAF? [this Friday]? I could go viral and get down there. I have these thoughts, but I’m going to do it. But if I saw Dillon Danis, we had to fight in the street. In this part of late we have to fight, for free. Each county has some real estate. If he took a pay cut [to fight Jenkins after Danis withdrew]I will kill myself. … If I see him, we gotta fight, bro.”