Thiago Alves and Mike Perry have beef.
It all started back in 2017 when both combatants were battling for prime real estate in the 170-pound weight class. Alves and Perry were scheduled to hook ‘em up at the UFC “Fight Night” event in Pittsburgh, but “Pitbull” bailed at the eleventh hour, citing damage from Hurricane Irma as the culprit.
Perry, who also flew from Florida to the “Keystone State,” insists that excuse was “bullshit.”
Both welterweights went their separate ways in the years that followed, but now fate has brought them together once again. Alves is currently the BKFC middleweight champion and Perry is fresh off his decision victory over UFC bang bro-turned-bareknuckle brawler Julian “Nitrate” Lane.
Is one victory for BKFC enough to score Perry the next middleweight title shot?
“It could be Mike Perry,” BKFC President David Feldman told MMA Junkie. “Mike Richmond just became the No. 1 contender – could be that. Could be some other names, as well. We’ve got a lot of balls we’re juggling right now trying to pull them down and make sense of everything so the fans get everything they’re supposed to get.”
Alves parted ways with UFC after dropping back-to-back fights to Laureano Staropoli and Tim Means, the latter of which ended by way of submission. The 38 year-old “Pitbull” scraped by with a 6-9 record after failing to capture the title from Georges St-Pierre at UFC 100 more than a decade ago.
The Brazilian is currently 2-0 for BKFC, having previously outpointed Lane in Daytona.
As for Perry, who turns 31 in September, he exited UFC after posting a 7-8 record for the promotion and seemingly got worse as his career progressed as opposed to better. His final two fights inside the Octagon resulted in decision losses — and mediocre performances — opposite Tim Means and Daniel Rodriguez.
A decision on Perry vs. Alves is expected within the next few weeks, if not sooner.