Mike Perry knows BKFC and David Feldman helped solidify a successful next chapter of his career after leaving the UFC, but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been a bit of frustration along the way.
Perry is now shifting back into MMA as he’s set to face Nate Diaz in a massive fight on the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano fight card on May 16 in Los Angeles. The event streams exclusively on Netflix.
Following the announcement, BKFC president David Feldman gave his thoughts on Perry’s decision to face Diaz, and while he wished the “King of Violence” champion well, Feldman admits he wishes Perry’s next move went down a different path with the promotion.
“Honestly we didn’t have much to do with that at all,” Feldman said. “I wish him the best of luck, I really do. These guys are going in there and risking their lives to make money and he’s going to make money and I’m happy for him there. But it wasn’t something that we were involved in, and it didn’t go down the way I wanted it to go down, to be quite frank.
“[Our relationships is] good. I wanted something different. I had something in the works, and they chose to do this instead, because they had the one out on it. They chose to do this instead. I had something really big planned, huge planned for them, and they chose to do this instead.”
Perry was asked about Feldman’s comments ahead of his fight promotion Dirty Boxing’s next event, DBX 6, which takes place Friday night in Miami.
“I’m really grateful for everything I’ve done in [BKFC] and everything [BKFC] has done for me,” Perry told MMA Fighting. “That is another one of the paths and options and opportunities. Last time I went out of bare-knuckle [I fought Jake Paul in a boxing match], this time I’m looking to have success stepping out of bare-knuckle.
“I don’t know if that matters [if] I go out [and] have success because of all the options afterwards. My goal as a prizefighter is to get paid. I do, still, have two fights on my [BKFC] contract. I love the bare-knuckle style of fighting. If we can make something happen after May 16, back with [BKFC] again, or depending on what numbers and options and opportunities, people I could face – where is the best place to go? I mean this fight… I win this fight, Netflix gives me another opportunity, so if I’m going to have 100 million people watch me, well [that’s big].
“There is no ill will, no bad blood, [no bad] taste in your mouth of whatever – well, I might have the blood taste in my mouth eventually again – but, yeah, I love [BKFC]. I love working with David Feldman, and we’ve had a lot of fun and hopefully it’s not over.”
Perry has found tremendous success in BKFC, winning all six of his promotional bouts — including victories over UFC veterans Michael Page, Luke Rockhold, Eddie Alvarez, Jeremy Stephens and Thiago Alves. While “Platinum” has become the face of the promotion over the years, he has expressed frustration about his lack of activity.
When asked if he could provide insight on the big fight Feldman and BKFC had in play for him, Perry tapped back into some of the frustrations he experienced this past year.
“That’s not fair, bro, because there’s lots of talk – shit moves, like shit changes,” Perry said. “Like, DBX changed.
“You know, last year, I was going to fight in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, [and] end up fighting in October. Dude, I was supposed to fight every month in ‘25. Every month they told me, ‘Next month.’
“So, whoever comes to the table, man, I’m here for the shit, but [with] time to prepare, knowing what’s not going to change. That’s one thing about this fight with me and Nate is like, me and Nate signed a fight. We announced it. It f*cking happens. These fighters that get fights announced and then the shit changes, the fight falls out, something happens, doesn’t happen, like we show up to fight. I don’t want to jinx it now, but we’re pretty solid on we’re going to fight.”
