Mike Perry won the title as King of Kings of BKFC, but he is also a victim of his own success.
After an 18 months of absence from the naked knuckle promotion, the former UFC welterweight finally made his return on October 4, when he faces Jeremy Stephens in the main event at BKFC 82. Several other options were considered before Stephens received the call, including a long-louded showdown against Darren Till.
I’ve been going back and forth between interviews and social media with Perry for years, talking about potential battles, but the matchups have not yet been together. BKFC president David Feldman has revealed he is making a significant financial offer in the hopes of booking the fight, but Till is largely scoffing that he actually competes with exposed knuckles.
“It’s interesting that he said no to all the money they offered him with exposed knuckles,” Perry said MMA will fight Till. “Darren was refined in boxing. He turned down the money. It wasn’t just money. When I called him Jake Paul, it was a three-week notice and I thought I had to take this right away. I have to fight this guy.
“I embrace these challenges to become my best self. I think naked knuckles are a new sport for Darren. He’s taking his chances in the boxing ring for now.
Till has definitely achieved success in boxing. This includes his recent knockout against former UFC champion Luke Rock Hold.
That doesn’t mean he couldn’t ultimately sign a contract to compete in BKFC, but Feldman admits that he can only go to an attempt to book a fight.
In fact, if the ferry passes through Stevens, Feldman expects to go after again, but that may be the last time he pursues that matchup.
“I think we’ll talk right after this fight. His contract is inappropriate. We’ll see if he’ll renegotiate it,” Feldman told MMA Fighting. “They are great people so I’m not going to step on their toes, but I think we have the opportunity to do something again, and if it breaks apart again, of course, I have to be stupid to continue back there.
“If Mike wins and this doesn’t seem to be Jeremy Stevens’ walk, it’s a tough battle. If Mike wins… we could have had that equation.”
Although it may offer the most anticipated and hyped fight for Perry, he is mostly concerned that he is busy after a peaceful year in his combat sports career.
Perry lost a boxing match with Jake Paul, but bare knuckle is his main focus for the future as he remains the face of BKFC.
hoping to provide another devastating knockout and move his BKFC record to 6-0, Perry admits that the promotion may be tougher and more demanding to find him.
Despite being called out all the time, Perry realizes that the fighter who wants to face him is actually far from someone who signs a contract on the dotted line and climbs into the ring and throws his hands.
“It’s good to think about it, it’s good to say it,” Perry said, with a hard time finding an opponent.
“I want to show my toughness again. I’ll continue to do great things with naked knuckles. I love this company. I love how they treat me. I love the fighting style. I love it’s so different and dangerous.