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The Wiffle Ball Bat Of Protection

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Mike Perry has turned to the world of bare-knuckle boxing (BKB) and to the surprise of no one, he fits right in.
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight departed the pr…


UFC Fight Night: Perry v Rodriguez
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Mike Perry has turned to the world of bare-knuckle boxing (BKB) and to the surprise of no one, he fits right in.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight departed the promotion in 2021 before moving debuting in BKB later that year with a split decision win over Michael Seals at Triller Triad. This past Saturday (Feb. 19, 2022), he debuted for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) where he fought two-time The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) alum, Julian Lane.

However, it was what happened ahead of the fight that caught the attention of many when Perry whipped out a baseball bat at the pre-fight press conference.

“I’m gonna have my own bat, I don’t know how security gonna be,” Perry said on The MMA Hour. “I don’t know how quick they gonna be… I’m protecting myself, I gotta take care of me and the people around me. Outside of the ring, it ain’t fair. We ain’t fighting fair. I had a plastic wiffle ball bat, if that’s really an upper hand, you’ll be alright. You was gonna get a little smack to the face no problem.

“Nobody knew I had it on me. It was funny to me, thinking about it like that. Nobody knew I had this bat boy, I’ll pull it out and get three feet of reach on your ass real quick!”

Perry (14-8 in MMA) defeated Lane via unanimous decision at BKFC: KnuckleMania 2 (watch highlights) and now has his sights set on current Welterweight champion Thiago Alves. After taking the time to rest up from his gloveless affair, of course.

“Absolutely, I do [want to fight for the title],” Perry told MMA Junkie. “I just need a couple of months to heal and strengthen some things. I’ll be working within that time. I can do cardio. My cardio could’ve been better. I knew it was going to be more like a bone cardio, you know what I mean? My hands just hurt from hitting him in the face.”

As for Alves, a fellow former UFC Welterweight, he has a potential return to the cage in mind. “Pitbull” last fought in a June 2021 when stopping Ulysses Diaz in the third-round by doctor’s stoppage — this coming after a decision win of his own over the aforementioned Lane.

Darren Till Hopes To Avoid Main Event Booking For Octagon Return

UFC middleweight contender Darren Till is hoping to avoid the main event spotlight when he returns to the Octagon later this year. Since falling short of middleweight gold in 2018, Till has had a tough time in the UFC. In his last five fights, the Liverpudlian has gone 1-4, a record that includes a brutal…

Continue Reading Darren Till Hopes To Avoid Main Event Booking For Octagon Return at MMA News.

UFC middleweight contender Darren Till is hoping to avoid the main event spotlight when he returns to the Octagon later this year.

Since falling short of middleweight gold in 2018, Till has had a tough time in the UFC. In his last five fights, the Liverpudlian has gone 1-4, a record that includes a brutal knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal in his final appearance at welterweight.

After arriving at 185 pounds with a decision victory over former interim title challenger Kelvin Gastelum, Till was tipped by many to be a future tough test for middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. But after a main event defeat to #1-ranked contender Robert Whittaker, that push for gold was stalled.

If the setback to “The Reaper” stopped his surge, his next Octagon outing sent him firmly into reverse. Against Derek Brunson in the UFC Vegas 36 headliner last September, “The Gorilla” was dominated throughout and submitted via rear-naked choke in the third round.

Till Wants To “Get Comfortable Again”

At the age of 29, and with wins against Gastelum, Stephen Thompson, and Donald Cerrone, Till’s potential is clear. Despite his recent struggles, the Brit hasn’t lost his self-belief and still sees UFC gold in his future. To get that ball rolling again, however, he has to rebound in 2022.

During a recent appearance on Michael Bisping’s Believe You Me podcast, Till spoke about his return, and admitted he’s looking to avoid another headlining spot when he makes his comeback.

“I’ve had like, eight or nine main events now, and we’ve got Tom (Aspinall) from Team Kaobon doing Team Kaobon’s 10th (at UFC London), it’s historical, it’s nice stuff,” said Till. “But I would love to just have a three-round fight, just open the main card, and just see what it’s like. Every fight I’ve had since Cowboy has just been main event. I understand the UFC, what they see in me is potential and style, but I would love to just get back in there and fight three rounds and get comfortable again, be Darren Till.

“I swear to God, years ago, you can speak to my coach, I thought I was fucking indestructible,” added Till. “I used to say I can’t be killed, I can’t be beaten. I know I’ve still got that deep down inside me. I just need to find it again and be comfortable again.”

The last time Till fought three rounds was in the UFC 244 co-main event in 2019, where he edged past Gastelum on the scorecards. He’ll certainly be looking to re-create that success when he returns to action.

While talk of a clash with Uriah Hall existed, the veteran’s booking with Andre Muniz means “The Gorilla” will need to look elsewhere for his next rival, or perhaps wait for the victor of that contest. Although according to “Prime Time,” Till isn’t all that keen on the idea of sharing the cage with him.

With Till’s fiery response to Hall’s recent ducking claims on Twitter, the stage has been set nicely for these two middleweight contenders to settle their differences in the Octagon down the line.

Who would you like to see Darren Till’s return to the Octagon come against?

Continue Reading Darren Till Hopes To Avoid Main Event Booking For Octagon Return at MMA News.

UFC Veteran Jessica Eye Wants A Future With All Elite Wrestling

Jessica Eye has revealed that she wants to wrestle in All Elite Wrestling. A little over a week until UFC 272 and Jessica already has her “Evil” eye on another athletic venture. Eye will face Manon Fiorot on March 5 in an early preliminary bout. Her French opponent is currently on a dominant eight-fight win…

Continue Reading UFC Veteran Jessica Eye Wants A Future With All Elite Wrestling at MMA News.

Jessica Eye has revealed that she wants to wrestle in All Elite Wrestling.

A little over a week until UFC 272 and Jessica already has her “Evil” eye on another athletic venture.

Eye will face Manon Fiorot on March 5 in an early preliminary bout. Her French opponent is currently on a dominant eight-fight win streak, suffering only one loss via split decision–at the start of her professional MMA career.

Jessica’s last bout was in 2021 against Jennifer Maia at UFC 264. After losing the match, Eye had an opportunity for redemption a few months later. However, the bout was canceled due to Eye being hospitalized for an illness.

It will be Eye’s 30th professional match at UFC 272. And after several back-to-back losses, it will be her chance to get back in the winner’s circle.

However, win or lose, she wants a slice of All Elite Wrestling.

Recently, on February 21, Jessica Eye made a statement in regards to AEW.

“I want to wrestle in AEW,” tweeted Jessica.

Short and sweet. And with a long list of other MMA fighters that have jumped on the AEW bandwagon, Eye would fit perfectly.

She will join Paige Vanzant, Junior Dos Santos, Kayla Harrison, and many others that made cameos on the professional wrestling show. Even the BMF champ Jorge Masvidal got the AEW audience riled up when he made an appearance.

With fighter pay still an ongoing issue within the UFC, many of the promotion’s fighters have branched out, or retired, to acquire money elsewhere. Eye, currently 15 wins, 10 losses, and 1 No Contest, maybe another addition to that growing list.

Her possible transition to AEW begs the question: face or heel? The nickname “Evil” may prompt fans to push for the latter.

What are your thoughts on Jessica Eye wanting to wrestle in AEW?

Continue Reading UFC Veteran Jessica Eye Wants A Future With All Elite Wrestling at MMA News.

Mike Perry Explains Equipping A Toy Bat At Recent BKFC Presser

Mike PerryFormer UFC fighter Mike Perry has explained the reasoning behind why he brought a toy bat to a recent Bare Knuckle FC press conference and nearly used it on Julian Lane. Perry made his BKFC debut this weekend against Lane at BKFC’s KnuckleMania 2 event. He won the fight via a unanimous decision in arguably […]

Mike Perry

Former UFC fighter Mike Perry has explained the reasoning behind why he brought a toy bat to a recent Bare Knuckle FC press conference and nearly used it on Julian Lane.

Perry made his BKFC debut this weekend against Lane at BKFC’s KnuckleMania 2 event. He won the fight via a unanimous decision in arguably a dominant performance from the debuting Perry.

The heat between Perry and Lane skyrocketed to new heights this week during the pre-fight press conference. After a series of back-and-forths on the microphone, the two nearly brawled on stage when Perry revealed he brought a toy bat to the presser. Security intervened and the two sides were quickly separated.

Mike Perry Explains Bringing Bat Prop To BKFC Presser

During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Perry explained his thought process behind bringing a bat to a pre-fight press conference.

“I’m gonna have my own bat, I don’t know how security gonna be,” Perry said. “I don’t know how quick they gonna be… I’m protecting myself, I gotta take care of me and the people around me. Outside of the ring, it ain’t fair. We ain’t fighting fair. I had a plastic wiffle ball bat, if that’s really an upper hand, you’ll be alright. You was gonna get a little smack to the face no problem.” (h/t BJPenn)

Perry was let go by the UFC following back-to-back losses to Daniel Rodriguez and Tim Means. Before that, he had been on a solid run with wins in four of his previous six fights.

Perry has always been known to up the ante when it comes to pre-fight staredowns and banter, but his approach to Lane was a sight to behold. It’ll be interesting to see how Perry’s bare-knuckle career fares going forward.

What was your reaction to Mike Perry pulling out a bat at a press conference?

Khabib Vs. GSP In A Grappling Match?

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Khabib Nurmagomedov will go down in history as one of the greatest fighters to ever do it. Destiny almost saw him reach 30-0 as a professional, and many speculated what that final bout cou…


UFC Fight Night: Walker v Hill
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Khabib Nurmagomedov will go down in history as one of the greatest fighters to ever do it. Destiny almost saw him reach 30-0 as a professional, and many speculated what that final bout could have been.

For “The Eagle,” there was always a desire to take on a fellow all-time great in Canada’s Georges St-Pierre who held Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) crowns in both the Welterweight and Middleweight classes. This would have been quite an ideal sendoff for both men but simply never came to fruition.

Well, why not a grappling match at the very least? Their respective Sambo and wrestling-based styles were unmatched during their runs. But alas, the time has just passed for the current Eagle Fighting Championship (Eagle FC) head.

“I don’t see the point in it,” Nurmagomedov said during an Instagram live stream (h/t Igor Lazarin/Bruno Massami). You can, of course, add fuel to the fire. Say something… but I don’t want to. I don’t want to promote this topic. ‘Oh, I could return to Eagle FC,’ I don’t want to make it. I want to make PR for league in another format. I don’t think that I’ll return — wrestle with someone. Let others wrestle, who need it. Do I need it? In this life, we are not allowed to do everything we want. Your desire may not coincide with what you will do. You can just want it and that’s it. Does it make sense now to talk about my hunger? I do not see the point.”

Nurmagomedov’s 29th and final victory came in Oct. 2020 when taking on interim UFC Lightweight champion Justin Gaethje. Needing just two rounds, Nurmagomedov found the triangle choke submission to put “The Highlight” to sleep. He’s stuck to his guns about remaining retired ever since.

St-Pierre, on the other hand, last fought when capturing the aforementioned 185-pound Middleweight title when defeating Michael Bisping at UFC 217 in Nov. 2017. It was St-Pierre’s return to action after a four-year hiatus.

UFC Releases “Covington vs. Masvidal: From Friends To Foe” Trailer

The UFC has released a new trailer previewing the upcoming UFC 272 grudge match between Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington. On March 5, the grudge match between Covington and Masvidal that is two years in the making will go down inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Monday, the UFC released a video package…

Continue Reading UFC Releases “Covington vs. Masvidal: From Friends To Foe” Trailer at MMA News.

The UFC has released a new trailer previewing the upcoming UFC 272 grudge match between Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington.

On March 5, the grudge match between Covington and Masvidal that is two years in the making will go down inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Monday, the UFC released a video package to document the story behind the main event. The title of the video is “UFC 272 Look Ahead – Covington vs Masvidal: From Friends to Foes.”

Weeks ago, Masvidal released his own video documenting the same “friends to foe” narrative, but unlike the UFC, Masvidal’s aim was to “expose” Covington in the video by showing, among other things, his former buddy’s duplicitousness over the years.

Naturally, the UFC would take a much more balanced approach in their storytelling. The video captures how close Covington and Masvidal initially were and pulls the most biting quotes from both competitors to illustrate how far removed they are from those amicable days.

You can view the full video of UFC 272 Look Ahead – Covington vs Masvidal: From Friends to Foes below.

How do you see the “friends to foe” story between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal ending when the two collide next month?

Continue Reading UFC Releases “Covington vs. Masvidal: From Friends To Foe” Trailer at MMA News.