Mike Perry thinks he’s finally in a position to showcase the best of what he has to offer in combat sports.
Perry’s claim to fame in the fight game came through MMA. He fought 15 times for the UFC over the course of five years prior to splitting from the company in late 2021.
The exit from the octagon allowed “Platinum” to examine his best fit professionally. Thus far, that’s proven to be a shift to the exclusive use of his hands.
Perry earned a victory over Michael Seals at Triller Triad Combat in November. He rallied from an early knockdown to secure a split decision victory at the hybrid-rules event. Now, he’s going into bare knuckle fighting where he’s set to headline “BKFC: KnuckleMania II” against Julian Lane on Feb. 19 in Hollywood, Fla. The event takes at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and streams on FiteTV.
Punching has always been Perry’s bread and butter, and now that he doesn’t have to worry about using any weapons other than his hands, he is getting quite comfortable.
“It’s not like I’m training grappling right now – there’s no point to training grappling right now,” Perry told MMA Junkie on Friday. “There’s maybe some clinch stuff, but no ground. I like how training is right now. I wear shoes all the time. I like my outfits. I try to wear stuff that I feel swaggy in.”
Perry’s entire focus in training is based around the BKFC ruleset. He said he’s enjoying it, and with his upcoming fight being a potential title eliminator in the welterweight division, Perry isn’t sure his current trajectory will ever lead back to MMA.
“Obviously the offers have to match,” Perry said. “Maybe it’s another BKFC fight (after this). I go out there and do what I’m supposed to against this guy; I should be fighting for the title. I should be a champion this year. So let’s do it. Let’s go.
“It’s 50/50 (if I will return to MMA). This is kind of built for me. In the UFC and when I did MMA, I would train grappling for hours at a time. I trained grappling, grappling, grappling. Then what would I do when I got in the ring? I just tried to punch people. So now it makes sense.”
Ultimately, the financial side will play a critical role in Perry’s decision making going forward. However, as of now, he said BKFC CEO David Feldman has given him a contract that offers more security than what he had with UFC.
“Triller was a big step up,” Perry said. “BKFC is a step up from the UFC as far as the contract goes right now.”
Mike Perry unsure if he’ll return to MMA: ‘BKFC is a step up from the UFC as far as the contract’