Mike Perry accepts fight on hours' notice against former UFC star in his Dirty Boxing promotion
Yesterday at 07:50 PM
Bare Knuckle superstar and former UFC fighter Mike Perry took a heavyweight fight in his own promotion on hours’ notice against one of the most intimidating combatants on the planet.
Mike Perry is enjoying some downtime as he looks ahead to his return to the Bare Knuckle FC ring. During his hiatus stemming from a boxing loss to Jake Paul, Perry launched his promotion, Dirty Boxing, which launched this weekend.
The promotion’s inaugural event featured familiar names like former PFL prospect Solomon Renfro and former UFC light heavyweight Fabio Cherant. In an unprecedented move, Perry and Dirty Boxing won’t stream the fights live, and will instead opt to release the fights the day after on its platforms.
Despite the delayed release of the fights, one big spoiler was announced on Saturday just hours before the event. Duane Crespo pulled out of the event on fight day for undisclosed reasons, forcing Perry and Dirty Boxing to scramble for a last-second replacement.
The solution? Perry. The headman decided to spend part of the inaugural card headlining against former UFC middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero.
Mike Perry vs. Yoel Romero headlines Perry’s inaugural fight promotion gig
Perry announced just before the event that he would step up and face Romero in the Dirty Boxing 1 main event on Saturday.
“Sorry guys, our main event: Yoel Romero, his opponent canceled,” Perry said in an Instagram story post. “But I’m going to step in on short notice and face him tonight for the heavyweight main event showdown. How about this f***ing action? Let’s go, baby.”
Dirty Boxing’s ruleset features three-minute, three-round bouts with only punches and elbows allowed. You can check out the full ruleset here.
The full fights, and highlights, are expected to be released in the hours following Saturday’s event.
Mike Perry’s post-UFC stock continues to rise
Remarkably, Perry could potentially return to the BKFC ring in the coming months, depending on how much damage he sustains against Romero. He hasn’t fought in BKFC since finishing Thiago Alves at BKFC: KnuckleMania IV in April.
Meanwhile, Romero returns to fighting after defeating former UFC title challenger Thiago Santos at PFL vs. Bellator. He’s won three of his last four MMA fights, including knockouts of Alex Polizzi and Melvin Manhoef.
Since departing the UFC in 2021, Perry has become the face of bare-knuckle fighting. He’s unbeaten in his BKFC tenure with wins over former UFC champions Luke Rockhold and Eddie Alvarez.
The 47-year-old Romero is a dangerous out for any fighter, despite the lack of tread left on his tires. During his prime, he was one of the most feared men in the UFC middleweight division, earning brutal knockouts against Chris Weidman and Lyoto Machida.
Perry vs. Romero will be a sight to behold once the full fight is released to the general public. Regardless of how the bout turns out, Perry has once again proven to be one of the most game fighters walking the Earth.
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