Mike Perry definitely found a home in bare-knuckle fighting, but he might have to put the gloves back on for some of the biggest possible matchups available to him.
Following his fourth straight win with a second-round TKO over ex-UFC champion Eddie Alvarez at BKFC 56, the veteran brawler addressed what’s next while mentioning several names such as Jorge Masvidal and Anthony Pettis as potential opponents. Of course, there are other marquee fighters available but Perry doesn’t know if any of them will actually face him in a bare-knuckle fight.
That includes fellow UFC veteran Nate Diaz as well as Jake Paul and Logan Paul, who contracted Perry as a backup for recent boxing matches.
“I want to fight bare-knuckle,” Perry said on The MMA Hour. “I love it. I do love it. At the same time, I’m still interested to maybe put a boxing glove on and Nate boxed Jake and it didn’t go his way. So a fight with me, definitely makes sense. I would love to fight a Nathan Diaz but I think I win that.
“The Masvidal fight is intriguing because he can hurt me bad, I think. That’s what gets me up in the morning. That’s what makes me work.”
Perry knows bare-knuckle fighting isn’t for everybody but it’s the place he calls home.
He was even crowned the “King of Violence” this past weekend after Perry shattered Alvarez’s orbital bone during an epic two-round war that saw both men endure a lot of damage before the fight was stopped.
While he’s not totally opposed to putting on a pair of boxing gloves to do battle with somebody like Diaz, Perry hopes somebody with a big name in combat sports will eventually accept his open challenge in BKFC.
“These guys are afraid to do no gloves,” Perry said. “They really are afraid. I’m like come test yourself. It’s good to be afraid. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. I want to be afraid when I’m about to fight because it’s going to make me do even better. Be a man. My first act as king is men got to stand up. Grow some balls.
“I’m the guy. I’m the money fight. It’s because of BKFC. It’s because the show they put on. It’s because the promotion they’re doing. They’re killing it with me. We’re killing it together but if the biggest fight out there is a fight that needs to get made with gloves on, of course I would do it. That would be a play date.”
Another name Perry hears quite often as a possible opponent is Darren Till, who is currently a free agent after he was released from the UFC.
Once again the problem is Till has stated he’s not interested in doing bare-knuckle fighting but even if he changes his mind, Perry says he would like the Liverpool native to get some experience first before setting foot in the ring with him.
Despite getting the win on Saturday, Perry was actually upset that Alvarez only lasted four minutes because his ultimate goal is finding an opponent willing to give him five rounds of hell.
“P****,” Perry said when addressing Till. “Wouldn’t that be great? Even a guy like him, I would want him to have a try out, a practice shot. Some guy to beat up. To go in there and have your first one [before fighting me].
“I was excited about Eddie because he had the experience in it. He fought a fast, beefy Chad Mendes but Chad Mendes was a quitter. In that fight, he did break down, he just didn’t want that sixth round. I think they would have gave them a sixth round but Chad didn’t want it so they gave it to Eddie. Chad was done. I learned a lot from my first one so I would want no excuses [from Darren Till].”