Mike Perry requires antibiotics after breaking Luke Rockhold’s teeth at BKFC 41, but says the gruesome injury showcases the excitement of bare-knuckle boxing.
Mike Perry is in need of antibiotics after his impressive performance at BKFC 41, but his opponent Luke Rockhold took the brunt of the damage. Perry not only shattered Rockhold’s front teeth during the past Saturday’s pay-per-view event, but he also knew when it happened. “I felt that in my fist, his teeth went into it, for sure,” Perry said Monday on The MMA Hour. “I was just like, ‘Whatever that was, I can’t wait to land that again and feel that again. I wanna feel that in my knuckles again.'”
This is why Perry and bare-knuckle boxing are such a perfect fit. After the fight, he displayed a gash on his knuckle that he believes caused the destruction of Rockhold’s mouth. This injury required additional treatment to prevent infection. According to Perry, the damage was well worth it. After delivering the damaging blow, he noticed Rockhold becoming more defensive and trying to avoid taking another hit like that. Eventually, they broke from a clinch, and Rockhold admitted that he couldn’t even bite down on his mouthpiece due to the damage to his teeth.
Despite being stunned by Rockhold at one point, Perry continued to chase him down, landing the shots that ultimately made his opponent turn to referee Dan Miragliotta and signal that he was done fighting. With a TKO win at 1:15 of Round 2, the 31-year-old Perry earned his third straight win in BKFC by defeating a former UFC middleweight champ. In the aftermath of the fight, Rockhold stated that he could “check bare-knuckle off the list” and expressed eagerness to return to wearing gloves for future fights.
Rockhold later wondered if a better mouthpiece or having a beard would have saved his teeth and lower lip, which also sustained a significant cut. However, Perry is not convinced it would have made a difference. He has experienced his share of gruesome injuries throughout his combat sports career, considering them part of “sports history.” Perry believes that such injuries are simply part of the sport and sees that the bare-knuckle ring will continue to provide him with opportunities amid such harsh circumstances. “It’s boxing, but it’s meaner than boxing, because look what happens,” he said. “I can just bust your teeth out of your mouth.”