Mike Perry is in the midst of a combat sports career change from an MMA fighter to a bareknuckle boxer and is trying his best to keep everything on the straight and narrow.
While over the years he’s had his share of issues outside of the cage that were a cause for concern, including alleged domestic violence that he denies and punching an older man at a restaurant, the former UFC welterweight and soon-to-be BKFC fighter assures he’s in a great place mentally.
Despite generally being in a good mood when out and about, the hard-hitting fighter says certain bad actors are to blame for trying to stir up altercations in public.
“People actually come up to me and start sh*t sometimes,” Perry told MMA Junkie. “They’re either trying to clout chase, trying to get a video, they’ve got somebody hiding behind somewhere trying to get a video, and then they come up to me and they try me, and they think that I’m some influencer. Like I’m some Instagram influencer and that they’re gonna come up to me, and I’m not a real professional fighter.”
He continued, flexing his muscles shirtless: “So, people come up to me, they don’t get to see all this. I’m ripped under here. It’s power, baby. But I’m a small guy, so people come up to me and think I ain’t sh*t or something. They think they can walk all over me. They don’t do that to the big guys – the football players and the heavyweights. They don’t go up to them and start talking sh*t, but they do it to me, and I welcome it with open arms, baby! Come and see ya boy! Say hi, be disrespectful if you want to, everything else will take care of itself.”
Perry exited the UFC on a two-fight skid but is excited to make the switch to bare-knuckle boxing because he can just focus on what he does best – throwing and landing hard punches. Although he currently does not have a fight scheduled, he said he is enjoying the process as his days in the training room are more enjoyable without a focus on grappling.
Despite what some people may think of him based on past news, Perry wants everyone to know he is approachable if he is seen in public.
“I’m nice, though,” Perry reassured. “Come say hi, be nice to me.”
Check out the full interview with Perry in the video below:
Mike Perry blames ‘clout chasers’ for public altercations: ‘They don’t do that to the big guys’