Mike Perry says he was made for bare-knuckle boxing, and now he has the title to prove it.
On Saturday night in the BKFC 56 main event, with the inaugural “King of Violence” championship on the line, Perry moved his promotional record to 4-0 after former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez was unable to continue and his coaches stopped the fight at the end of the second round following a brutal back-and-forth war. While Alvarez definitely had his moments in the first round, Perry came out firing in the second, blasting away with huge, powerful punches.
Alvarez was rocked at one point but just kept swinging away. Unfortunately for him, the swelling on the left side of his face was growing larger by the second.
As he sat down in his corner, Alvarez’s eye was shut and his head coach Mark Henry saw enough to inform the referee that his fighter couldn’t continue. The official stoppage came at 2:00 at the end of the second round, with Perry getting a TKO win.
“I like to get hit a little bit sometimes,” Perry said following his latest win. “I like that s***. It makes me feel alive. I work on the head movement but the last one ended so easily, I just wanted to have a battle so I let him get some shots off. I had a great time.
“Eddie Alvarez is a hell of a competitor. Who owns combat sports now? The king of violence! ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry!”
The fists flew early and often as Perry marched forward and Alvarez stuck a jab in Perry’s face throughout the opening round. Alvarez’s left hand constantly found a home whether he was throwing straight shots or with big hooks, but Perry refused to back down while walking through the punches.
The fast start from Alvarez seemed to catch Perry off guard, although he kept smiling as he went back to his corner and then came out firing in the second round. This time around, Perry tagged Alvarez with a stinging punch during the first exchange that clearly rocked the former UFC and Bellator champion.
Smelling blood in the water, Perry continued his aggressive attacks, showing no fear as he launched a series of haymakers that forced Alvarez to fight off his back foot. The offensive onslaught never slowed down, although to his credit, Alvarez kept throwing punch for punch.
Still, Perry did more damage and the momentum was swinging in his favor.
When the round ended, Perry appeared ready for more, but Alvarez sat in his corner with his coaches taking a good look at him before Henry stood and waived his arms to signify the fight was over.
The fighters embraced afterward, with Alvarez sporting the wear and tear from spending four minutes in the ring with a bruiser like Perry.
Afterward, Perry called for the biggest fight possible — although almost impossible that it would ever happen — while simultaneously hoping that somebody will eventually accept his challenge.
“Conor McGregor would be a great matchup,” Perry shouted. “I just beat somebody he fought for a world title. Who’s bigger than that? There’s no one bigger than Conor McGregor except me.
“These boxers don’t want to take the gloves off. Darren Till said he doesn’t want to do it with no gloves. Who wants to fight ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry with no gloves?”
Whoever is next for Perry has their work cut out for them because “Platinum” has certainly carved out his place in combat sports by becoming the face of bare-knuckle boxing.