After picking up a win in his UFC debut this past weekend, welterweight Mike Perry revealed that he is currently serving a probation sentence for a burglary arrest several years ago.
After a successful UFC debut at UFC 202 this past weekend, Mike Perry already has another battle he has to endure — and it’s not inside the cage.
Perry revealed in a Monday interview on The MMA Hour that he is currently serving probation because he was arrested for burglary several years ago.
“I have a very important meeting that I cannot miss due to court. I’m under probation, and I have things that I have to oblige to,” he said. “I was arrested five or six years ago for burglary. And I was put on two years community control, three years probation, after being out on bond for a year. I’m actually sitting outside that building right now, waiting to walk in.”
Community control, an intensive form of house arrest, was an alternative to prison time in Perry’s case. Perry violated his community control sentence by failing a drug test, according to the UFC welterweight, and was subsequently sentenced to prison.
“I did violate the community control with a failed drug screen. And I did almost six months in jail,” he admitted. “I got out, they reinstated my probation and I’ve been working on that ever since. I’ve got less than a year; I should get out in May or July, in between there, of next year.”
Travelling to compete inside the Octagon won’t be an issue while Perry finishes up his probation sentence, however.
“They give me permission to work,” he said. “I was just in Vegas; they gave me permission for that.”
Perry looks at fighting for the UFC as a way to clean up his life — although, he claims he has been doing so long before now.
“Absolutely. It’s not even the beginning. I’ve been turning my life around, I’ve just been on probation for so long,” he said. “I would say it has guided me in a better way. I had to learn things the hard way in life. I didn’t always have proper guidance, and I guided myself a lot. Probation kind of helps me, I guess. I’m grateful for whatever God puts me in my path.”
UFC officials have not responded to a request for comment from BloodyElbow.com at the time of this writing.
Mike Perry knocked out Hyun Gyu Lim on the pay-per-view main card of UFC 202, which took place live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Aug. 20.
Video of Perry’s interview can be viewed at the 1:36:40 mark at the top of the page.