UFC veterans Luke Rockhold and Mike Perry are set for a heated bare-knuckle boxing match this weekend at BKFC 41.
For Luke Rockhold and Mike Perry, the tension is palpable just days out from BKFC 41. The two UFC veterans are slated to headline BKFC 41 in a five-round affair this Saturday at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colo. The bout serves as Rockhold’s bare-knuckle boxing debut following a successful 10-year run in the UFC, while Perry has already racked up a 2-0 BKFC record since transitioning full-time to the pugilistic side of the game. On Wednesday, Rockhold and Perry went face-to-face in a fiery dual interview on The MMA Hour, and the former UFC middleweight champion made it clear that he has plenty of surprises in store for his brash foe.
“Mike thinks a certain thing — he’s going to find out another,” said Rockhold. “A lot of people think one thing about me and they always find out another. He’ll come to find out.” “I can say the same thing,” Perry replied. “Mike, I know who you are,” Rockhold shot back. “I’ve seen who you are and everyone knows what you bring to the table. You’ve been doing your thing for a while. You’ve been boxing. Yeah, it’s apparent you can box. You’re a little f****** dog and you like to come forward. No one’s ever seen me box. No one’s ever seen me isolated in this spectrum and no one’s ever seen me move like this. You don’t know what to expect. I know what to expect.”
“It’s a left or a right, it’s not that confusing,” Perry said. “It’s a left or a right hand, footwork, some head movement. You’re southpaw, I’m orthodox. You’re rangy, I’m an inside fighter. It’s not that confusing. But it will be when I’m out there in front of you. I’m better than everybody who trained with. Every boxer you trained with for this, I’m better than them.” Rockhold, 38, and Perry, 31, haven’t seen eye-to-eye on much. From the moment BKFC booked the bout, both men have reveled in taking shots at one another.
That was evident in their first faceoff earlier this month, which saw Chael Sonnen nervously try his best to keep the two fighters from engaging in any extracurricular activities. But that also didn’t stop Perry from seemingly wiping a booger on Rockhold’s oversized coat — and Perry was still pretty pleased with himself about the move when asked on Wednesday. “Because it was hilarious. And it got everybody watching and realizing what happened,” Perry said.
“You know what the f****** pathetic thing is? You actually thought about that,” Rockhold replied. “You actually thought about that in the back, like, ‘I’m going to do this.’ You planned that thing. It was obvious you planned it.” “Hell yeah, I planned that s*** for like a week,” Perry said. “That’s how f****** pathetic you are,” responded Rockhold. “I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to put a booger on this motherf*****,’” Perry continued. “And every time I do an Instagram video now, every time I’m in my car or something and I’m like f****** recording myself, I’m like, ‘Damn man, there’s just always this little booger in there.’ I’m just waiting to give you more boogers. You were giving Paulo Costa bloody boogers. You’re the booger man now!”