BKFC just dropped a big fight announcement out of nowhere.
It’s no secret that Bellator has always been more open to cross-promoting and co-promoting than the UFC. Most recently that’s taken the form of a long-standing talent-sharing agreement with Japanese promotion RIZIN, but in the past the Showtime-based company has also worked hand-in-hand with BAMMA and Glory Kickboxing. In 2014 they even went so far as to team up with the Monster Energy Supercross racing circuit.
Bearing all that in mind, it’s still kind of a shock to see bare-knuckle boxing promotion BKFC’s latest announcement on social media. The upstart pugilistic platform just dropped the headline attraction for their August 20th card, featuring none other than recent interim Bellator title contender Michael ‘Venom’ Page taking on former UFC fan favorite Mike Perry.
** Huge Announcement ** Michael ‘Venom’ Page will be facing Mike Perry in the main event at #BKFC27 on Aug 20th! https://t.co/HLL6nJaKgl
??Pre-Sale Ticket Signup: https://t.co/B9CKDdozj8 pic.twitter.com/XKrkrfAWVE— Bare Knuckle FC (@bareknucklefc) June 9, 2022
It’s not the first time Page has been able to compete outside the confines of his Bellator contract. MVP took a pair of boxing bouts back in 2017 & 2018, sandwiching an MMA fight against David Rickles in the Bellator cage between—he won all three bouts via KO/TKO.
Most recently, the 35-year-old took on Logan Storely for Bellator’s interim welterweight title, losing that bout via a controversial five-round decision. That loss broke a six-fight winning streak for the former point karate champion, including a victory over former title holder Douglas Lima—avenging his 2019 loss to the Brazilian.
For Perry, this marks his third foray into boxing since leaving the UFC back in 2021. Following a 4-1 start to his Octagon career, ‘Platinum’ went just 3-7 over the next four years. Perry has not competed in MMA since exiting the UFC, however he picked up a spit decision over Michael Seals in a modified-rules boxing match for Triad Combat. The MMA Masters talent made his bare-knuckle debut at BKFC: Knucklemania 2 back in February of this year, beating notable TUF meme fighter Julian Lane via unanimous decision.
BKFC 27 takes place on August 20th in London, England. As of yet no other bouts have been announced for the card.