BKFC’s Mike Perry on What It’d Take for UFC Return: ‘I Need to Be Undeniable Like Max Holloway'

Perry ahead of Knuckle Mania 4: "I'm the only guy outside of the UFC that people are watching."

Dec 14, 2019; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Mike Perry (blue gloves) reacts as he makes his way to the octagon / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Perry would consider stepping into the UFC Octagon again... if the price is right.

Following a not-so-storybook ending to his 15-fight UFC career, the fan-favorite fighter has written a better chapter of his life in his new promotional home of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC).

Perry is undefeated since his UFC departure in 2021. Crossing over into the ring, the 32-year-old has packed on quite the resume with wins over pro boxer Michael Seals, Julian Lane, and current UFC fighter Michael 'Venom' Page. Perry's star power reached even higher when he took out former UFC Champs Eddie Alvarez and Luke Rockhold in his 2023 season.

While bare-knuckle boxing takes up Perry's full focus ahead of his next fight against Thiago Alves at Knuckle Mania 4, MMA is still in the back pocket of the UFC veteran as he conducts his training camp at an MMA gym. Perry says he hones his boxing skills against sparring partners, who may bring a different style altogether.

"I could fight any style, any way," Perry told MMA Junkie. "I believe the winner that I am and the fighting that I've been doing, I'd be winning anyways. It's just I'm getting compensated for it and it's just like, why wouldn't you? Why wouldn't you be compensated for all the s*** you put yourself through all the training. I trained as hard as I ever did and now I'm finally being taken care of and I can take care of myself, which makes me perform better. It gives the fans a funner fight."

As the BKFC continues to grow in popularity and the UFC's continued dominance in the MMA industry, "Platinum" believes he's the main attraction outside of the Octagon. That being said, Perry explains why he's not so fond of fighting for the world's premier MMA promotion.

"I'm the only guy outside of the UFC that people are watching," Perry continued. "They even say like, 'Oh, come back to the UFC'. But you know, UFC wants to pay bodybuilders $10K and $10K. These new guys $10K and $10K. They put a green fighter against a green fighter and they're bound to get a knockout. One of them is gonna be good enough to lay a hard shot rather than these tough matchups.

"Some people say, 'Oh, I'm fighting washed up people...' but like MVP's not washed up. He just did incredible in his UFC debut against a tough fighter. Eddie Alvarez was tough against Chad Mendes. That was a great fight and he used his speed and he was able to hit me and I should have been like, 'Yo get [up], you ain't quitting. Get your ass back out. You ain't gonna hit me like that and then quit on the stool with three more rounds left in regulation. Like get your ass up off that stool. Come out here and take your beating like a man."

Making great strides over in the BKFC as the inaugural 'King Of Violence', Perry doesn't completely rule out a return to MMA, although it's going to take a nice paycheck to see him fighting with four-once gloves once more. For that kind of money to appear on the table, Mike Perry says he needs to make himself 'undeniable' like newly-crowned BMF Champion Max Holloway did at UFC 300 with a last-second KO of Justin Gaethje.

"Who's coming to offer money for an MMA fight? No one. It's boxing matches now. The only opportunity... I need to be undeniable like Max Holloway says. Maybe MMA and the UFC is an option one day if I keep being undeniable," Perry concluded.

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