Mike Perry got the chance to spar upcoming opponent Donald Cerrone at ‘Cowboy’’s BMF Ranch, and while it didn’t go all that well, it sounds like he’s confident their fight in the Octagon will be much different.
When Mike Perry’s bout with Donald Cerrone was announced, it seemed like just another in a steady string of fun action fights for ‘Platinum.’ Perry has quickly made a name for himself in the UFC with a series of back-and-forth brawls and highlight reel KOs. But, his fight with ‘Cowboy’ appears to be carrying some secondary significance as well.
Perry recently made the move from his training grounds in Florida out to one of MMA’s most high profile super-camps, Team Jackson-Winkeljohn in Albuquerque, NM. The legendary fight camp has played host to numerous notable UFC talents over the years, with Cerrone among them.
The former lightweight title contender turned welterweight has, over the last few years, move much of his training to his own BMF Ranch facility. However, Perry still got the chance to put in some rounds with the notable veteran following his move out west. In a recent interview with MMAjunkie Radio Perry talked about the experience of sparring his upcoming opponent, and why he’s not concerned about the fact that it didn’t go that well for him in the gym.
“So I go to the BMF ranch – this would be the second time we sparred,” said Perry. “We didn’t even spar, because he’s so easy for me to punch in the face that I didn’t punch him in the face like that. I was throwing jabs, and I was able to just touch him with the end of my glove, and I was like, man, I’m not going to open up on him here in his house on his ranch with all his people around.”
“So I start shooting takedowns,” Perry continued, noting that they were sparring a continuous 23-minute round. “And he kind of reversed me. I got up once or twice, and then the last 10 minutes of that round, he was on top of me. I was trying to pull some sweeps, or subs, but he’s a slick grappler, too. I wasn’t able to get him off of me the last 10 minutes.
“He’s laying on me at 23 minutes, and he kind of looks at me, and I just tapped him on the shoulder, like, ‘Alright, (expletive), get off of me.’”
“Maybe he thinks he’s going to grapple me, and make it a boring fight,” Perry added explaining why he feels their actual bout on Nov. 10th will go differently. “But the problem is, when he shot on me in the cage at Jackson Wink, he’s too weak to take me down. Wrestling is the mid-game, when you’re in the clinch trying to get the takedown – not when I’m shooting the takedown on you and my feet stumble over each other, and I can’t get your long ass off me.”
Added to Perry and Cerrone’s recent sparring history is the growing feud between Cerrone and Jackson-Wink. It’s a feud wrapped up in the camp’s decision to work with Perry for this upcoming fight, against Cowboy’s wishes – given their intimate knowledge of his style. And it’s quickly escalated to the point that it seems like Cerrone may no longer have a home in the gym. “I’m so much happier now that I got rid of the division in my gym – somebody that doesn’t want to help others and wants to do his own thing,” Winkeljohn said of Cerrone’s exit.
Given all the surrounding context, Mike Perry offered his prediction for how the fight will go, saying, “I’m going to beat him in three. I’m going to knock him the f-ck out.”
UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Korean Zombie takes place at the Pepsi Center in Denver, CO. The event will be headlined by a featherweight bout between former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and former featherweight title contender Chan Sung Jung. Bouts between former flyweight title contenders Joseph Benavidez & Ray Borg and former women’s featherweight champion Germain de Randamie & women’s bantamweight title contender Raquel Penngington have also been penciled in for the event.