Mike Perry is chasing names and checks.
The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) superstar and former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter collides with constant troublemaker Dillon Danis in the main event of Duel Arena 1 inside Kia Center in Orlando, Florida.
Perry is coming off a bloody two-round beatdown of mixed martial arts (MMA) legend Nate Diaz in the co-main event of MVP MMA 1, which streamed on Netflix.
After that win, Perry was hoping to take advantage of his momentum and possibly
jump back into the Octagon.
Unfortunately, UFC never came calling.
Or at least, not seriously enough.
“So, I’ve heard that they had conversations with my team and my people, but if they want me, what are we talking about?” Perry told Ariel Helwani when asked if UFC reached out after his latest win. “But also, your boy has gotten his name up, and I’m a prize fighter. Fighting for the UFC is not the only prize. Fighting for money is the prize — life-changing money and opportunity.”
That is where Danis comes in.
Perry received the biggest payday of his career for the Diaz fight, but he admitted his upcoming bout with Danis is not on that level financially. In fact, “Platinum” said he is taking a pay cut for the opportunity.
“I’m sure I would take a bit of a pay cut to go back to the UFC, but I don’t know how big that pay cut is,” Perry said. “I’m taking one now to fight Dillon Danis; they are paying what they can, but I had to take this opportunity to fight Danis.
“It’s not the money I got to fight Nate,” Perry continued. “So, when I beat up Dillon Danis, I’ll get another opportunity. And it better be for big, big money. Didn’t Nate get like $10 million to fight me? He needed that s—t though, and he bled it out.”
While Perry is not getting the same kind of bag to fight Danis that he did for Diaz, beating Danis still has real value to him.
Especially because Danis is still undefeated in professional MMA.
“Dillon Danis is a big name. Believe it or not, he is a big name,” Perry said. “He’s a famous guy. He hasn’t gotten all the fair shots and chances at big fights. And if you’re a big name and a real fighter like myself, you can’t not take this opportunity. So I’m taking the opportunity here in my hometown of Orlando. … I want his 0.”
Whether Perry eventually ends up back in UFC remains to be seen.
But if his latest two wins come against high-profile names like Diaz and Danis, that phone call might eventually come.
And if it does, Perry has already made his position pretty clear.
He is not just fighting for the logo anymore; he is fighting for the prize.
