Mike Perry made a name for himself in the UFC, but he arguably became a star through his blistering performances as a bare-knuckle fighter in BKFC.
From his six-round slugfest against Michael “Venom” Page to scoring dramatic wins over former UFC champions like Luke Rockhold and Eddie Alvarez, Perry not only found a home in BKFC but he truly became the face of that sport while amassing a 6-0 record with four stoppages along the way. But it’s been almost a year since Perry last stepped through those ropes to compete in BKFC with “The King of Violence” most recently opting for a fight against Nate Diaz on the first MVP MMA card and now preparing for a showdown against always outspoken grappler Dillon Danis on Saturday in Florida.
While BKFC president David Feldman has said repeatedly he expects Perry to eventually return to the promotion, his plans to book a highly anticipated fight against Darren Till has repeatedly faced delays. But for his part, retired UFC welterweight Matt Brown understands why Perry opted to hit the pause button on the Till fight in favor of booking a showdown in MMA against Danis.
“I’d like to see Mike doing the bare-knuckle,” Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “I think it’s exciting. It’s one of the few sports outside of the UFC that’s legitimately exciting and cool to watch and I love what they’re doing over there. I do think Mike is at a point in his career where because he made a name for [himself] in BKFC, you say superstar, might be throwing around that term a little loosely, but [he’s] a big star, he’s doing great.
“I think fighting a Dillon Danis, he’s just capitalizing on his name. I’m sure he’s getting paid a great amount for it. He’s probably thinking this is going to be easier than doing a bare-knuckle fight. If he goes bare-knuckle, he’s probably going to be fighting a Darren Till or some killer. Dillon Danis isn’t really that hard of a fight for him outside of Dillon may catch him in a submission. That’s really the risk you’re running into with Dillon Danis. Other than that, I think he probably blasts Dillon Danis’ f*cking head off.”
It’s hard to argue against the logic that Perry faces far less danger against Danis — a world class grappler with only three MMA fights on his resume — that going up against somebody like Till, who is a former UFC title challenger with a knockout in his BKFC debut not to mention a few impressive wins when he crossed over to boxing as well.
Add to that, Perry is ultimately a prizefighter and Brown argues that all combat sports athletes should measure risk versus reward in any situation like this one.
“I think he’s going to get a bag,” Brown said. “He’s going to make some money and I’m sure we’ll see him back in BKFC. He’s going to come back.”
Brown also understands that Danis has transformed himself into one of the most talked about athletes thanks to his outlandish antics and constant presence stirring up trouble on social media. Like it or not, Brown says Danis gets people to watch what he’s doing — even if the vast majority of the audience wants to see him get brutally knocked out.
“I actually get the play here,” Brown explained. “He’s a little late to the party because enough people have already beat up on Dillon Danis in the last few years. Nobody’s going out expecting Dillon Danis to be a world beater.
“But he brings eyeballs, he brings attention. That’s the world we live in. We’re day-trading attention. That’s what the currency of the world is now — getting attention.”
While Perry is going to be heavily favored to win on Saturday, Brown also understands the logic for Danis to take this fight and potentially change his career forever.
“This is his chance to really prove himself,” Brown said about Danis. “This has to be his biggest MMA fight he’s had. He hasn’t fought anybody of any significance in MMA. This is his chance to show the world he’s a good MMA fighter. When it’s a guy that’s got that kind of pressure and that kind of end game available to him, that’s a dangerous guy. He’s got to see that. Dillon’s got to know, this is his chance to prove these motherf*ckers wrong. Shut everybody up. Find a way to beat to beat Mike Perry.
“Unfortunately, it’s Mike Perry. He’s a tough, tough motherf*cker with big power, hard to take down, hard to hold down. If he’s able to go take him down, put him into a submission, I think it’s a great look for Dillon Danis.”
In a fight anybody has a chance and Brown understands the stakes, especially if Danis can pull off the upset, but truth be told, he just doesn’t see that happening.
“I’m not going to pick Dillon Danis to win,” Brown said with a laugh. “I can tell you that much. But again, guys can be dangerous, it’s MMA, anything can happen. It’s crazy. I’ll certainly be picking Mike Perry to win this fight and bring some eyeballs. It is kind of an interesting fight.”
