Mike Perry is ready to get some payback on Julian Lane in his BKFC debut this Saturday.
Perry and Lane are set to headline BKFC’s Knucklemania 2 event, which takes place Feb. 19 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
The bout came together fairly easily after a viral moment occurred at December’s BKFC Tampa event. As Perry was doing color commentary, Lane threw some cards at Perry, which caused the former UFC welterweight to react and a near brawl ensued that was broken up quickly. Perry was asked why he felt Lane chose that moment to shoot his shot.
“Because there was guardrails in between us and he was safe behind them,” Perry told MMA Fighting. “I think about that moment and I’m like, ‘Man, I should’ve just jumped over and tackled him, or something.’ I was just so pissed off and I am still so pissed off, and I’m just gonna handle my business on Feb. 19.”
MMA Fighting was first to report that Perry signed with the BKFC in October after parting ways with the UFC. Before “Platinum” makes his promotional debut, he took part in the inaugural Triller Triad Combat event in November, where he earned an upset victory over Michael Seals via split decision.
As expected, there was a line of fighters hoping to welcome Perry to the BKFC squared circle, but Lane will get the first crack in a big spot. For Perry, that makes him very happy,
“There were a couple of opponents in mind, but I feel like he gets the opportunity, and there were others who didn’t because they weren’t someone I should do business with,” Perry said. “I’m not saying he is one I should do business with, but we’re doing the business, he got what he wanted. He threw the cards at me and I don’t know who picked that time for him, that spot, or if they set it up, if they were trying to make the fight a little more poppin’, but I gave them what they wanted at the same time because I wasn’t there to play no bullsh*t games or anything like that.
“I was talking on the mic and I got a little taste of the bare-knuckle before I got to do it for real. It was weird, because I’m a professional. I understand that I have a past, but with the guardrails and everything, with an open ring when they say fight, and we start from a distance with my technique, my boxing abilities, it’s just gonna be a totally different show. It’s not gonna be bunches of people there to break it up right away. The video didn’t look great, it looked like we were just holding, but that’s the bare-knuckle clinch and I can’t wait to get this motherf*cker.
“The first thing he did when I got up to that guardrail was he backed up,” Perry continued. “He backed up scared, so he’s just lucky that the guardrail was there. But we’ll see when he shows up Feb. 19, because I’m gonna be there, and I’m gonna bust his sh*t [up].”
Perry’s UFC run ended with back-to-back unanimous decision losses to Tim Means and Daniel Rodriguez. “Platinum” admits he is in a much better place mentally and physically these days, especially now that he’s a father.
But when the bell rings to face Lane, peace will be the last thing on Perry’s mind. He plans on making the former The Ultimate Fighter contestant pay for throwing those cards.
“I’m gonna finish it by knocking him out,” Perry said. “I”m busting him up, making him bleed, cutting his face up, and finishing him — or doing the best I can to get him out of there. In my contract, there’s this thing that says that if there’s a tie at the end of five rounds, there is a sudden death round. And I think about [Robert Whittaker] in the UFC when he said, ‘I hope it’s a barnburner, drag out fight, where it’s up by a hair, and you knock him out in the last seconds of a great fight.’
“I’m trying to go in there and be clean, not getting touched. I’m pretty easy to touch, it happens. I expect it, I get hit sometimes, but I’m the toughest SOB there is and we’ll see how he takes it when I hit him. I’m gonna be in his face trying to make him bleed.”