Mike Perry is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is currently ompeting in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Let’s dive into some trivia and facts about his life and career.
- His full name is Michael Joseph Perry
- He was born on September 15, 1991
- He is an American professional mixed martial artist
- He is currently competing in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
- Perry was born in Flint, Michigan, on September 15, 1991
- For much of his life, he moved around to different schools between Michigan and Florida
- This instability led him to a path of drugs, house arrest, probation violation, and jail
- Perry started training boxing at age 11
- This led to his career in MMA
- Perry made his professional debut in September 2014
- He had completed 11 amateur fights with a record of 8-3
- He competed for several regional promotions across the United States
- In just under two years, he fought nine times while finishing all of his opponents via KO/TKO
- Perry made his UFC debut on short notice against Lim Hyun-gyu on August 20, 2016, at UFC 202
- At the official weigh-ins, Perry faked a handshake with Lim then put his hands up like an old school boxer yelling to Lim, “You thought you had a friend, boy!” before screaming passionately at his opponent
- He defeated Lim via TKO in the first round after Perry dropped him twice with right hands, dropped him again with a left hook and then followed up with ground and pound before the referee jumped in to stop the fight
- Perry faced Danny Roberts on October 8, 2016, at UFC 204
- Perry faced Alan Jouban, on December 17, 2016, at UFC on Fox 22
- Perry faced Jake Ellenberger on April 22, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 108
- Perry was awarded a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus
- Perry was expected to face Thiago Alves on September 16, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 116
- The win also earned Perry his second Performance of the Night bonus award
- Perry faced Santiago Ponzinibbio on December 16, 2017, at UFC on Fox: Lawler vs. dos Anjos
- He lost the fight by unanimous decision
- Perry faced Max Griffin on February 24, 2018 at UFC on Fox: Emmett vs. Stephens
- He lost the fight via unanimous decision
- Perry was expected to face Yancy Medeiros on July 7, 2018 at UFC 226
- However, Medeiros pulled out of the fight on June 27 citing a rib injury
- Perry faced Donald Cerrone on November 10, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 139
- After the fight with Cerrone, Perry signed a new four-fight contract with the UFC and faced Alex Oliveira on April 27, 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Jacaré vs. Hermansson
- The win also earned Perry his first Fight of the Night bonus award
- Perry faced Vicente Luque on August 10, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 14
- This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award
- As a result, Perry was expected to be sidelined for the remainder of 2019 after undergoing surgery to correct facial injuries sustained during the Luque fight
- Perry faced Geoff Neal on December 14, 2019 at UFC 245
- Perry faced Mickey Gall on June 27, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker
- On Feb 23, 2020, Perry faced Al Iaquinta at Chael Sonnen’s Submission Underground 11 event
- During his UFC debut at UFC 202, Perry and his cornerman, former UFC middleweight Alex Nicholson, were accused of racism after Nicholson shouted during the pre-fight introductions
- On the Monday following the fight Perry offered an explanation while on The MMA Hour stating “I don’t think any of my competition can see me, and when I hit Lim, I opened a lot of people’s eyes,” Perry told Ariel Helwani
- Helwani then clarified that the comment was made prior to the fight to which Perry responded “Well, we can see the future”
- Perry has also been criticized for making homophobic and racist comments
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