Mike Perry is living his best life in bare-knuckle, but he’s up for contract renewal.

Perry revealed his fight with Luke Rockhold at BKFC 41 was the final of his most recent deal, and while he’s content to continue fighting without gloves, feeding his family is his priority.

“I’m up in the air because that was my last fight on contract,” Perry said at the BKFC 41 press conference after Rockhold retired at the 1:15 mark of Round 2. “I’m free from everybody, but I love bare-knuckle boxing. I love David Feldman, and the bare knuckle crew, and the team and the fans, and everybody that’s been showing so much support. They love this bloody stuff, too.”

True to form, Perry got bloody with former UFC middleweight champ Rockhold, who landed several hard punches that hurt his smaller foe before an early flurry caused him to turn to the ref and signal his exit.

“I was ready for another round, and I was just shocked because I was like, ‘Man, that was too easy after all that hard work,’” Perry said. “Once I took the shot, I was like, ‘OK, your size and your weight’ – I’m still ‘Platinum’ at the end of the day, man. My chin still held up strong, and I kind of liked it. I like getting hit. Sometimes, it makes me get into the fight. It makes me be me. And I’m one of the roughest, toughest son of a guns on the planet.”

That didn’t keep the roughest and the toughest from a moment of humility, however. In the glow of his post-fight win, Perry called for a faceoff with UFC megastar Conor McGregor, who was at the 1stBank Arena in Broomfield, Colo., to take in the action. The two faced off for cameras and exchanged pleasantries.

Perry suggested he avenge a UFC loss in Donald Cerrone, who also was in attendance at BKFC 41, and then fight McGregor. But for those kind of bouts, he said the incentive has to be there.

“The fights got to make sense for them, and for the money that they’re paying me, they’re like, ‘Hey, do you want, what would you say? I mean, what you guys, what did you think? Who was gonna win this fight? It was up in the air, it could have been 50-50. Luke’s a big challenge. You look at him, and you’re like, damn that guy is a problem, maybe. But the ‘Platinum’ is platinum.

“So it’s like the money’s gotta make sense for them. It’s gotta make sense for me. They’re like, ‘Do you want belts, or do you want money?’ Well, I wanna feed my family, and I gave myself a belt, and damn it, I’m putting more credit to put some respect on me.”

A fight with McGregor is more fantasy than anything; there is a slim chance to none the Irish star would part ways with the industry-leading UFC to make an appearance in bare-knuckle. But Perry can dream.

“He likes to box too,” Perry said of “The Notorious.” “We could throw hands. And he gave me a faceoff. How cool is that, bro? That’s what’s up. I’m real humble to be honest, because I’ve been fighting a long time, I’ve been in some ups and downs, some tough fights, and some things didn’t go my way way. And these guys are coming over here fighting me at what seems to be my best attributes. I got a chin, I got some hands, and his bare-knuckle. Most people don’t like getting hit like that.”

Author: Staff

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