Mike Perry bare knuckle: Perry tells Joe Rogan why he transitioned from MMA
Joe Rogan recently hosted former UFC welterweight Mike Perry on his podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience.
Perry is one of the biggest names competing in bare-knuckle boxing for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). He has had immense success in the promotion after leaving the UFC in 2021.
In three bare-knuckle fights in the BKFC, 'Platinum' Perry has won all three against Julian Lane, Michael Page, and former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold.
Rogan asked Perry to explain his decision to compete in bare-knuckle boxing and how he thrives in the sport. Perry mentioned that he felt it was his strength and that he was willing to scrap in a fight:
“You know, it’s just a real fight to me. I still go to the gym and I do MMA. I love boxing so much though, it’s my forte. It’s like what I’m good at. ‘Cause I’m cool to take a punch, get hit, that’s fine. I’ll take a hit to land a better one on you. In bare-knuckle, there’s a lot of opportunity.”
Mike Perry also outlined the differences between bare-knuckle boxing and MMA:
“I’ve learned though. When I fought Julian Lane, his little f*****g head hurt my hands. ‘Cause lot of time with boxing gloves, your hands are like open and you try to close it at the right time. ‘Cause if you’re squeezing your fists, it’s a little harder to move, you’re kinda tense. But in bare-knuckle you have to learn how to move while you’re tense and keep your hands close. Because with gloves, you can block a shot like this but in bare-knuckle, you gotta be closed up, tight and squeezing your fists so hard so that when you hit them you don’t destroy your hand."
Check out Mike Perry's comments below:
Joe Rogan speculates about a potential Mike Perry bare-knuckle fight against Conor McGregor
Mike Perry's last bare-knuckle headliner against Luke Rockhold was followed by a faceoff with Conor McGregor.
After Perry called the UFC star out, the two exchanged cordial words in the centre of the squared circle. McGregor was wearing a BKFC championship belt and expressed his interest in a bare-knuckle fight.
Joe Rogan weighed in on a potential meeting between the two stars:
“If somehow or another they (UFC) gave him the green light to do that... If that happened in a bare-knuckle fight, that would be f****** bananas... He can do everything, but if somehow or another he agreed to fight bare-knuckle, I mean, Jesus Christ, you know how big that would be? That would be wild. If they did that in bare knuckle, it would get a million pay-per-view buys at least. Probably more.”
Listen to the entire JRE episode on Spotify: