“Probably more.”
Count UFC commentator Joe Rogan among the combat sports fans itching to see Conor McGregor and Mike Perry throw down in the bareknuckle boxing ring.
“Notorious” made a surprise appearance at the BKFC 41 event last April in Colorado, chugging Irish whiskey and storming the cage to face off against the “Platinum” puncher. UFC President Dana White didn’t seem to mind the headline-grabbing interaction, but don’t expect McGregor to be entering the gloveless arena anytime soon.
That hasn’t stopped Perry from doubling down on his “professional” callout.
“He was moving all over the place and I stood my ground,” Perry said on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. “I stood so still and I couldn’t be wavered or moved. He was moving all over the place. I mean, that says that he was free in that moment to do so, obviously. But it was me respectfully calling him out, which shows the professional in martial arts that I have been for so many years. How do you call a man out in a sport that he has a family and you guys want to hurt each other and they can honor it in a fair way and promote it to be entertaining? I mean, everything he does people watch that s**t. So, it was great to have him there. It really boosted the moment for me.”
Perry, 31, is 3-0 for BKFC with one knockout after parting ways with UFC.
“If [Conor] decided to do that … If somehow or another they (UFC) gave him the green light to do that, I can’t imagine how that could ever happen, but if it did … If that happened in a bare-knuckle fight, that would be f*****g bananas,” Rogan said. “He’s a very good kicker [too], he can do everything, but if somehow or another he agreed to fight bare-knuckle, I mean, Jesus Christ, you know how big that would be? That would be wild. If they did that in bare-knuckle, it would get a million pay-per-view buys at least. Probably more.”
McGregor, 34, remains under contract for UFC but you probably wouldn’t know it since “Notorious” hasn’t fought in nearly two years and still hasn’t agreed to battle fellow TUF 31 coach Michael Chandler. Either way, a “Platinum” punch out seems unlikely.
For now.