Mike Perry’s success in BKFC might be a blessing and a curse because it’s getting harder and harder to find high profile opponents to fight him.
The former UFC welterweight, who now holds a perfect 6-0 record since moving to bare-knuckle, has become the biggest star on the entire BKFC roster. But because Perry commands a hefty payday whenever he sets foot in the ring, the promotion has to find worthy opponents that help sell an event of that magnitude.
So far, BKFC has come through with names like Michael “Venom” Page, Luke Rockhold, Eddie Alvarez and Jeremy Stephens but the list might be dwindling, especially since Perry believes most of his dream opponents won’t actually face him in a bare-knuckle fight.
“There’s these guys that said that they won’t do it bare knuckle,” Perry told MMA Fighting. “To see someone tough enough, because I get pretty high level in there in a bare-knuckle fight. There’s things I know that you can tell other people don’t know. I mean that’s a tough question.
“I think of names when you ask me. Nate Diaz, [Jorge], Masvidal, there’s Darren Till. Darren Till don’t have experience bare knuckle that we haven’t seen at the club and no kicking. Nate Diaz and Masvidal both have experience bare-knuckle. They’d rather skip out on the bare-knuckle aspect.”
There’s also boxers that Perry covets as potential opponents but the same problem exists.
“[Terence] ‘Bud’ Crawford, Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua, he’s a little big,” Perry said. “Jake Paul! To fight Jake Paul bare-knuckle after you beat me in boxing and we should do 195 [pounds] and I’m going to come in there like 189. That sounds close. I’ve got to be more lean, more fast and less weight on my body.”
While it might seem like most of those fighters are a pipe dream, Perry has always targeted Till as a future opponents, especially after they’ve gone to battle on social media and through interviews in recent years.
With Perry making waves in BKFC, Till has been building his own resume in the sport of boxing including a vicious knockout over Luke Rockhold in his most recent outing.
Perry acknowledges that Till might be the perfect opponent when it comes to his return to BKFC in 2026 but he’s just not sure that the one-time UFC title challenger would actually face him without gloves on.
“Darren Till’s a big fight,” Perry said. “He’s doing well in boxing. To have a boxer and MMA fighter and he finally comes over and does the bare knuckle.
“It’s not going to be the same thing in the ring with me. He’s a little bigger. We’ve got to figure out that weight class, what weight class is that at? 185 [pounds]? I’ll do that. I think I’ll have some angles there but I’ll put shots together on the way in, angles and I can hurt people bare-knuckle.”
Perry hasn’t gone as far as laying down an open challenge in hopes that a big named opponent takes the bait but he’s confident that BKFC eventually comes through for him.
He’s just not sure when his next fight might actually happen but he’s keeping his options open while looking ahead at another big year in 2026.
“Just a matter of time until we find out what’s going to happen,” Perry said. “Mr. [David] Feldman told me it’s looking later. I’ve just got to work on myself right now and I get to talk about the game. I get to stay in the polls, talking about combat sports, what’s to come.
“[But fighting me in] bare-knuckle? They don’t want that. I’m about it in there with that shit. I wonder who it’s going to be.”
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