MMA Fighting - Mike Perry Wants To Retire Eddie Alvarez At BKFC 56

Episode Date: December 1, 2023

Mike Perry discusses his upcoming fight against Eddie Alvarez while declaring his intention to retire the former UFC lightweight champion when they clash in a bare-knuckle brawl at BKFC 56. Perry also addresses his recent backup role for the boxing match between Logan Paul and Dillon Danis while casting doubts on playing backup again after his name was used for promotion but he didn't actually get to fight. Subscribe to MMA Fighting Check out our full video catalog Like MMA Fighting on Facebook Follow on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Support for this show comes from the Audible Original, the downloaded two, ghosts in the machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudullian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever. Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprise his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible Original Blockbuster. The Downloaded, it's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much-anticipated sequel that leaves you asking, What are you willing to lose to save the ones you love?

The Downloaded 2, Ghosts in the Machine. Available now, only from Audible. Support for this show comes from the Audible original, The Downloaded 2. Ghosts in the Machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudullian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever. Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprised his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible original blockbuster,

the downloaded. It's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much anticipated sequel that leaves you asking, what are you willing to lose to save the ones you love? The downloaded two, ghosts in the machine.

Available now, only from Audible. We're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. Here's the face of bare-knuckle fighting and he will return to his throne on December 3rd when he takes on Eddie Alvarez in the main event for the King of Violence title. I am always happy to speak.

to the platinum one himself. Mike Perry. Mike, how are you, my friend? Hey, man, I'm doing great, brother. Ready to go capture my throne. Absolutely. You got to cut weights, so are you just going to take it out

on Eddie Alvarezzi after Miss Thanksgiving? Hey, man. I'm going to eat. I'm going to eat a little bit tomorrow. I got a little bit of work to put in next week to finish making the weight. I've been working on it pretty well. this week, that's the main focus, though, is getting the weight off.

I'll have a little plate tomorrow. And it isn't my first rodeo fighting around Thanksgiving and having it. Last time, when I fought Michael Seals and Triller, it was the day after Thanksgiving. So I went and I had food or it was Thanksgiving was like the day before weigh-ins. so I had a little bit and then I had to go cut the weight I weighed in it was pretty crazy that time

so I can eat a little bit tomorrow and it makes you it makes you when you have to sacrifice a little bit like that like you'll have this little plates with those little bits of all the good stuff on it and then you'll eat it and it'll be gone

and you'll be like damn and I went up like a pound or two eating that and now I have to cut that weight but it makes you appreciate the all the times that you you don't have to do that when you're a fighter like you know when the fight's not so close and you can really indulge yeah absolutely and i know you i know you posted recently like how much like your family means to you and how much that's kept you centered and i'm sure like the holidays are always special for family time but i know yeah i remember you know obviously from the time you made your ucdb to now like you've grown in a evolved so much, not only as a fighter, but as a person, like, how much your wife and kids mean to you? Like, how much that's changed you, right? Absolutely. They're the most important thing in my life, and, I mean, fighting is a close second, but the

fighting, you know, it helps me take care of them. It helps me give them a better life. So I definitely, you know, the fighting is very important to me. It is a dream and things like that. But my family is a dream as well. I'm super grateful to have them and to be able to take care of them. So, you know, I got to go get this Christmas money next week. I love it.

So we talked right after you signed your contract. And, of course, at that point, you even mentioned, like, we were kind of hitting around that Eddie Alvarez was going to be the guy. I watched the press conference. You stared him down. this seems like the perfect fight to make. This is going to be probably the biggest fight in BKFC history after you had the biggest fight in BKFC history back in April

with Luke Rockhold. Let me ask you this, Mike. What did you think of Eddie during that stardown when you finally came face to face with him at that press conference a little while ago? Yeah, I've been thinking about it. Like, you know, on one side, I'm like, how does this little guy think he's even

going to have a chance in there with me. But it never matters. You know, I believe that if God put someone across from, you know, you got to watch out. They have a chance too. So I'm going to be looking to be perfect in there and touch him up, hurt him good with every shot I hit him with. I'm going to make it count.

And I'm going to make a point the way I go after him. I'm saying I want this to be it for him. I want to be the one that he fights last, and I want to end it for him and show him the door. So that means I got to go after him, and I got to really put the pain on him and make him feel it. And, you know, I want to knock him unconscious in front of the crowd and give the people to show they want to see.

And it doesn't matter that it's Eddie Alvarez. I mean, it's a nice plus because he's been a champion in three organizations. but I kind of feel like he's, you know, sloppy seconds for me because Connor already did it to him. And, you know, I just got to go repeat that. I'm going to do the same thing to him. I'm going to put that pressure on him, punch him in the face and knock him down.

I don't know how many times he's going to get up. We'll see. Yeah. I remember, like, when you made your BKFC debut, immediately all eyes were on you because a lot of people are like, man, Mike Perry is just built for bare knuckle. Like you were a guy who was like, you were chiseled for this sport.

And when you fought Michael Vennon Page, like, there was a curious question because Michael Vennon Page was such a high-level striker. Curious, and credit to him, man, he stuck around. It was a great fight. Obviously, ended up getting that win. Luke Rockhold, you had a number of former UFC champion, and that was the size thing, right? Like, Luke was a big guy. Like, you're not a natural middleweight, and Luke is a big dude.

Like, Luke easily could fight a light heavyweight. He went out there and took him out. A little bit of the reverse this time, though, Mike, because not only you the favorite, but I think a lot of people believe you should win this fight, right? This is like your fight to win. We don't have nearly as many questions. You've got the experience edge. You got the size edge.

You got the power edge. Does that add any extra pressure when the expectation is a little higher? When it's like myself and I imagine most of the world saying, yeah, Mike Perry should win this fight. No, you just have to believe it. You have to not, you know, no doubt. You have to just delete all doubt. And, you know, every time someone says something like that, like, I'm grateful to hear it. And because I need to go out there and prove that and show that and back these people up who are backing me up.

And, you know, I've been in a place in the fight game before where something like that might have put pressure on me. But for this, and when the gloves are off and his bare knuckle, I know what I'm getting myself into. I'm, it's just facts are facts. Like I'm much more of a puncher than he is. I'm much more of, you know, a brawler than he is. And there's not a lot of technical standpoints that he has that he can utilize to, to gain any ground in this fight. So, you know, he can try to run.

He can try to hide. He can try to, you know, keep his guard up and make me punch his hard spot. like his forehead or his elbows or, you know, and but the thing is that I'm not, I'm just not going to stop. I'm going to keep punching him. If those are the spots he's giving me, I'll break through them. I'll break him down and I plan to dismantle Eddie Alvarez next week.

You know, Mike, like this, I know this is a tough question to answer before you get in there with him, but I'm kind of curious because I mentioned the MVP fight and Luke Rockhold the challenges those fights presented, you know, obviously MVP, me the technical striker and Luke being a massive dude. Like, let's just be honest, a big dude.

Is Eddie Alvarez a tougher or easier fight? When I say easier, I don't mean that a disrespectful way, but like, is he a tougher fight or an easier fight than the two guys you just beat? Well, Luke didn't give me the banger of a fight. I mean, he hit me once, and then I found my rank. and took him out.

I hit him with a shot that he did not win. He took it tough, though. He definitely did take that shot. He didn't just go down. So, you know, Eddie is just different because those two guys were tall and they fought differently, especially in the striking.

Eddie is a little bit short, a little bit shorter than me. And, I mean, he was looking thick at the press. conference when we faced off or whatever he you know he's been putting the weight on to try to come up here um i don't know how much above 175 he was he's probably about on weight i still got a little bit to cut and you know i want to make it look easy i want to be perfect in there i'm going to do my best to that and in uh you know anything i do get hit with i'm prepared

for and ready to return fire. I want to, you know, just break them down, pick them apart. I want to be my normal, cool self in there. The boxing is still about the swagger. The swagger gives you the speed, the timing, and the power. So, you know, those are my attributes I'm looking to bring in the ring with me. You said, Mike, a little bit ago, you said there's a little bit of a feeling like a little bit of sloppy seconds because, you know, Connor already cracked that chin.

If there's one thing, listen, we all complement like toughness and durability in the sport, Mike, and obviously that is an attribute to have. And Eddie's shown that throughout his career, but you and I both know at some point, you know, toughness can backfire on you. You know, when you rely on that toughness, you get your chin cracked. It's never the same again. We saw when he fought in one championship. He fought a lot of the bigger guys over there, and he had some struggles when he fought the bigger guys.

There's a reason why Eddie Alvers dropped to lightweight. He used to be a welterweight. There's a reason why he dropped to lightweight. That size and that power made a difference. You're like, at the end of the day, that's going to be the difference in this way. Yes, he's a tough guy. Yes, he's a legend. But he can't take Mike Perry's punches, especially at 175.

No, I, all I got to do is be consistent, find my range, be able to touch him. And, you know, be able to take what he touches me with because maybe he'll be fast. Maybe he'll be a little faster on the ins and outs. there will be some things that I think I will be faster at. We'll see how fast his legs are. His movement, depending on how low he's ducking, where he's ducking, which side, you know, which way he's moving.

And I'm going to figure these things out. If he's coming forward, if he's running back, running in circles, trying to stay away from me, these are all ideas that I have, you know, I have my own ideas on what to do. And yeah, when I do put this power on them, you know, we'll see if his head breaks up my hands. I think I'm better at punching bare knuckles than I was my first. So I think, you know, I squeezed my fist nice and tight.

And when I shove it down his face, it's just simple, man. It really is. Like we keep kind of going in circles and it always keeps leading back to me thinking about, how badly I'm going to beat this guy. And it's hard to do that before a fight to say that. And then when you go out there, the guy shows you something like, yeah, I deserve to be here. And I expect that so much from Eddie Alvarez.

He wants to give himself a show. Like he wants to be tough and be prepared for all of it. But I just think there's something else that I can't quite explain. that I'm going to bring into the ring with me. There's just that something we know every time you come in there. You always bring that something special, Mike. We know that every time you step in there. Thank you.

Last time we spoke, as I mentioned, is right after you signed your deal with BKFC, and also at that point, you were also preparing as the backup for the Logan Paul, Dylan Danis fight. I remember talking to you after the Jake Paul thing, and you were, I would say upset, but you were kind of disappointed the way the whole thing played out.

You know, they tease you as the backup, they use your name as the backup, stuff and then everything. Can I ask, like, in all honesty, the way that whole Logan Paul thing played out, you whatever, did you get paid? Let me ask you. I won't ask how much you got. Like, did they take care of you?

Because, man, did they build up the Mike Perry name trying to use you over there? And then obviously, you know, Dylan Danis went in there and kind of didn't show up, for lack of a better word? Well, you know, the fans for all the trash talk and stuff that happened with that fight for Logan and for Dylan, and they were meant to fight each other. And I just, you know, they gave me a little check for coming out. And all the hoops I jumped through, preparing for that fight and going out there and dealing with the organization and the media

and all those things, I started realizing. I was like, wow, this little check is fucking pointless. like maybe I shouldn't have done this and then you know they didn't even give me any any face time any camera time any any attention towards me at all it's like what was the point of y'all having me out here you know just just because you could have because you offered me a check that was good enough at the moment for me to be like all right let's go get this and you know things happen for a reason. That little check kept me in a certain area until this fight next week.

So, you know, it is what it is. Maybe they both retired now. You know, guys want a little bit of credibility and they try to use my name to get it, but you don't get that credibility unless you're in the ring with me. And then people know the real fans, committed ones know. that there's a difference when I step in that ring as compared to all the trash talk or, you know, the interviews or the media, the just, you know, I'm not your best speaker. I'm more of a damn scrapper.

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. So to that point, would that be, like, I know we've talked about, you know, you doing boxing in the past, and obviously your focus right now is on Baron Alcoe and Eddie Alvarez, but like if you do something like that again, would it be like sign me to fight? Like don't sign me as the backup. Like it's got to be me and Logan Paul, me and Dilley, me and KS, like whatever the name is, no more.

Because that was the thing I remember telling you when we talked the last time. Like when I did the podcast with Matt Brown, like Matt said like Logan Paul is praying that Dylan Danna shows up. He does not want Mike Perry in that fight. At this point, like in your head is it because I think of you as the A side, Mike, like you are one of the biggest names in the sports. now in combat sports like there's a reason you're headlining cards is there part of you it's like no more of this backups i'm either signed to fight me or i'm not doing this yeah that's that's what i want

i want the fights uh i don't want you know i mean if there's a good chance that someone's not coming and i'll get the full fight and the paycheck for the fight and you know give me some damn throughout the week. But really, yeah, I just want to fight. So, I mean, fuck all that bullshit. I prepared complete for a fight, and I deserve to have my name on the poster

and everything that comes with it. So, you know, this is the real fight. It's King of Violence title against a great name who's fought everyone everywhere for the last 20 years. So, you know, I can't let the old man beat me. And I can't, you know, that's nothing against the old man

because I love guys like Yoel Romero and Dan Henderson who fought until they were 47 still fighting. Y'O.L. Romero still fighting. So, you know, age and experience. He does have age and experience, but I have the bare knuckle experience.

So it's, you know, it's a good little toss-up. This talk shit, you know, it just flusters me in my head and like, I thank God it's sparring night. I'm about to go to the gym and punch

people and I'm just going to go out and act like it's Eddie right now and I'm just going to go across the ring and try to finish him. Like every second I get, I'm trying to finish him and I hope Eddie hears that and thinks that. I'm just going to keep coming at him and then he can

move and try to run away all he wants. There's nothing he can do when he gets putting that ring with me. Well, I tell you what, I got you so fired up now, Mike. I feel bad for your sparring partners. Apologize to them for me for getting y'all fired up beforehand. Last thing, Mike, you know, we know, of course, this is for the King of Violence title. It's a really cool thing. I loved it. I talked to Dave Feldman about it yesterday. I loved it they're introducing it. But be honest. Like, just be honest with me, Mike. This isn't like the winner is the King of violence. Like, you're defending the King of Violence, right? Like, you're already the King of Violence.

My boy, David, yes. Let's go, bro. I mean, look, I have to enjoy all of the parts of this. I love what you said, that I'm already that. I already have that title, and I'm just going to defend it. This time they're going to put it around me. Wow, man, it's an opportunity that I will not let slip through my fingers. I will not.

I can't wait. I appreciate it. As always, Mike, man. Always a pleasure. I love chatting with you. Obviously, safe training the rest of the way, man. Safe travels out to Utah for the fight. And let's catch up afterwards after you have that,

officially have that King of Violence title on your shoulder. Thank you, my brother. I appreciate you. Happy Thanksgiving to everybody that watched. And stay tuned next week. December 2nd, BKFC, Platinum Mike Perry, main event, King of Violence title against Eddie Al of Verres. Cannot wait, Mike.

We'll talk soon, all right? Cheers, brother. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. Okay, only 10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line. But first, there, the last one. Enjoy a Coca-Cola for a pause that refreshes.