Return Of The Bare Knuckle King

It’s difficult to paint the end of Mike Perry’s UFC career as anything other than a disappointment.

Early on, “Platinum” showed real potential. He debuted raw, just 24 years old with seven wins to his name, though all came via knockout. Pitted against the massive and UFC proven Hyun Gyu Lim on short-notice, Perry captured headlines by acting like a goofball at weigh-ins, and fight fans eagerly anticipated the opportunity to watch violent comeuppance.

Instead, Perry battered “Ace” for a quick stoppage win. In fact, he started his UFC career winning four of his first five, building an instant highlight reel of viciousness. Then, the wheels began to fall off, and Perry would never string together consecutive wins inside the Octagon again.

Even during the slump, Perry’s talent was apparent. Crappy fighters do not beat Paul Felder and Alex Oliveira, go to war with Vicente Luque, or win at the UFC level with their girlfriend in their corner. His obvious physical gifts and fighting instincts made his UFC failures more disheartening, and there was a lot of concern that Perry was going down a bad path in life generally.

Three years after his UFC loss, Mike Perry is making millions. He’s avoided any negative scandal outside the ring, very much looking the part of a committed father and family man. He’s got nearly 800k Instagram followers and hosts a successful podcast. Oh, and he’s undefeated in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) with two former UFC champions on his resume.

There’s still a chance he makes more millions fighting Jake Paul in the near future.

Since leaving the UFC, everything has fallen into place for Perry. He’s showing up to fights on weight and in shape, a stark contrast to the end of his UFC run. Even at his lowest, there has never been any quit in Perry in actual competition. He’s able to absorb hellacious punishment and dish it right back — a perfect skill for bare knuckle fighting, where even glancing shots open gnarly gashes. Being comfortable covered in one’s own blood is nearly a prerequisite for success, and even that’s no guarantee.

Take, for example, Perry’s most recent win over former UFC champion Eddie Alvarez. “The Underground King” is a dog. He’s been in more back-and-forth wars than most professionals have victories, and Alvarez walked away from most of them with his hand raised. Alvarez is an all-time Lightweight great because of his gameness, which is primarily responsible for a ton of titles and classic victories.

Perry still broke him. He absorbed Alvarez’s best shots in the first then returned the favor in the second, and Alvarez’s corner intervened to protect him from further punishment. Perry walked away “King of Violence” in definitive fashion, and if anyone wants to talk size differences, Perry was a whole lot smaller than Luke Rockhold and torched him even more quickly.

Hot shot ranked Welterweight Michael Page? Perry beat him too. In three bare knuckle fights, Perry rewrote his resume and position in combat sports, earning that multi-million dollar contract. He’s definitely capitalizing on a sport that prioritizes his best attributes — toughness, physicality, power — but Perry is also taking his career seriously, which was always the most significant missing piece in the UFC.

This weekend, his story continues at BKFC ‘Knucklemania 4,’ where he’ll face former UFC title challenger and current BKFC champion Thiago Alves. Perry has the opportunity to hang official BKFC gold next to his ceremonial title, tying championship legacy to his face-of-the-promotion status.

The timing is a little funny too. Perry vs. Alves goes down the same night as UFC Vegas 91, which is a particularly abysmal Apex offering. Not long after rumors UFC turned down the opportunity to make Perry an offer and bring him back to the Octagon, they put on a mediocre card that could really do with some “Platinum” star power.

Perry shouldn’t be too bothered, though. If you’re only going to watch one fight on Saturday night, Perry vs. Alves is the marquee match up, two recognizable names who are guaranteed to deliver action.

Not bad for a UFC washout.