Though ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry has made his mark in the world of bare-knuckle fighting, the newly minted ‘King of Violence’ would love to test out his skills in the sweet science and he has the perfect opponent in mind.
Returning to the squared circle at BKFC 56, Perry scored his fourth-straight win for the promotion with a dominant performance against former Bellator MMA and UFC lightweight world champion Eddie Alvarez. ‘The Underground King’ was forced to throw in the towel following the second round after his eye had swollen shut. The victory scored Perry the promotion’s BMF-like title, the ‘King of Violence’ championship.
Speaking with Ariel Helwani following another lucrative night of bare-knuckle brawling, Mike Perry expressed an interest in fighting TUF alumnus Nate Diaz, even if it means having to strap on a pair of eight-ounce gloves.
“I want to fight bare-knuckle,” Perry said on The MMA Hour. “I love it. I do love it. At the same time, I’m still interested to maybe put a boxing glove on and Nate boxed Jake and it didn’t go his way. So a fight with me definitely makes sense. I would love to fight a Nathan Diaz but I think I win that.”
Mike Perry is willing to throw on a pair of gloves if it means bagging a big fight
Thus far, Perry has earned victories over notable talents inside the BKFC ring, including Michael ‘Venom’ Page, Luke Rockhold, and the aforementioned Eddie Alvarez. However, ‘Platinum’ admits that there is a bit of a struggle in getting fighters to sign on the dotted line for a bare-knuckle fight.
“These guys are afraid to do no gloves,” Perry said. “They really are afraid. I’m like come test yourself. It’s good to be afraid. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. I want to be afraid when I’m about to fight because it’s going to make me do even better. Be a man. My first act as king is men got to stand up. Grow some balls.
“I’m the guy. I’m the money fight. It’s because of BKFC. It’s because the show they put on. It’s because the promotion they’re doing. They’re killing it with me. We’re killing it together but if the biggest fight out there is a fight that needs to get made with gloves on, of course I would do it. That would be a play date” (h/t MMA Fighting).
In August, Nate Diaz made his pro boxing debut against social media sensation Jake Paul in Dallas. After 10 entertaining rounds of action, the ‘Problem Child’ was dubbed the victor via a unanimous decision. Since then, Paul has pushed for a rematch to take place inside the PFL Smart Cage, but thus far, the ‘Stockton Samurai’ has declined the offer which is said to be worth upwards of $10 million.