Mike Perry, a fighter in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), expressed his interest in fighting Conor McGregor, who recently became a part owner of the BKFC, and praised McGregor for his contributions to combat sports.
Mike Perry had a hunch. He thought a face-off with Conor McGregor might actually happen. It was after a friendly encounter at a BKFC event in 2023. Now, if that fight happens, Perry, dubbed “The King of Violence,” would be beating up his own boss.
McGregor dropped a bombshell on Saturday night. He’s now part-owner of BKFC. He invested in the bare-knuckle promotion, becoming a fan after attending an event. He’s been in touch with BKFC president David Feldman ever since, working out the details.
McGregor had expressed a desire to compete in a bare-knuckle fight. Perry, a 32-year-old veteran, was all ears. He had nothing but praise for McGregor, who now partly controls his paycheck.
“Shit, thank you, man,” Perry said about McGregor at the BKFC KnuckleMania 4 post-fight press conference. He added, “We all love Conor McGregor’s fights. He’s probably the biggest combat sports star in history. We all still love Mike Tyson. He’s about to do something big on Netflix.”
“But Conor McGregor, nobody moves that needle like him and the Irish fans,” Perry continued. “The Irish fanbase is the No. 1 combat sports fanbase. They travel across the world to see Conor McGregor. He’s done remarkable things.”
Perry and McGregor were once UFC roster mates. That’s when Perry first noticed McGregor’s meteoric rise.
Perry remembered when McGregor first caught his eye. It was the night McGregor became the undisputed UFC featherweight champion.
“I remember still to this day when he knocked out Jose Aldo,” Perry said. “I was like damn, bro! I knew Jose and I didn’t know Conor. He got me back then. Just like Ryan Garcia got us the other day when he beat the 31-0 [Devin Haney]. He showed up and fought like a man.”
Perry respects those achievements. He’s trying to do the same. He admits he might not always do it cleanly. “Like Conor McGregor pieced up Eddie Alvarez in the ring. It was a little different than the way it went with me.”
Perry may not have McGregor’s swagger, but he’s got results. He took down former UFC champions Luke Rockhold and Eddie Alvarez in back-to-back fights. He demolished Thiago Alves in just 60 seconds in his latest bout.
Now, he’s waiting for his next opponent. He’s not ruling out a fight with McGregor, even if McGregor is technically his boss now.
“I haven’t fought longer than f*cking four minutes in like three years,” Perry said. “I’m out here hurting people or they quit. I break their hearts.”
“Conor’s always got heart. Even when we’ve seen him down, he’s still to be heard,” Perry added. “They took him out on a stretcher [after breaking his leg] and he was still telling people how he felt. But I’ll beat anybody in the world, period.”