Mike Perry continues to cruise in barenuckle competition.
Perry, who entered with two fights of barenuckle experience, welcomed former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold for his debut. The fight served as the main event of BKFC 41 at 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo. It was intense while it lasted, but Perry stood tall with his hand raised by TKO at 1:15 of the second round.
Perry came out aggressive, keeping Rockhold on his back foot. Rockhold used his reach advantage to keep Perry out of range, and clinched when he got close enough. A punch from Perry went south pausing the fight momentarily.
When the action resumed, Rockhold landed a sharp left hand to wobble Perry. Rockhold darted in to capitalize, but Perry evaded the follow-up punches and clinched. A moment later, Perry stung Rockhold to return the favor.
Luke Rockhold and Mike Perry exchange big punches at the end of the first! #BKFC41 | LIVE on #FITE pic.twitter.com/7RGVl7yei8
— FITE (@FiteTV) April 30, 2023
The intense action remained in the second round as Perry pressed ahead. Rockhold was on his bike and tripped as he tried to circle away. Perry kept marching forward, landing hard punches. After Perry landed again, and the fighters were separated from a clinch, Rockhold indicated to referee Dan Miragliotta that he could not continue as he pointed to his bloody mouth.
It’s unclear if Rockhold sustained a structural injury, but the result was a TKO victory for Perry in the second round.
During his post-fight interview, Perry called for Conor McGregor, who was in attendance ringside, to come into the ring for a faceoff. McGregor obliged, entering the ring with a BKFC title over his shoulder.
Conor McGregor got in the ring for a faceoff with Mike Perry after the #BKFC41 main event and said he would “be into this game.” ????
Full coverage: https://t.co/DTPOGNKJ7g pic.twitter.com/a2GD6jzDc1
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) April 30, 2023
After exchanging words with McGregor in a surprisingly respectful moment, Perry called out Donald Cerrone for a rematch from their UFC days. Perry said after he beats Cerrone, maybe he would have the chance to fight McGregor.
Perry has now won all three of his barenuckle boxing bouts under the BKFC banner. He won his debut against Julian Lane at BKFC KnuckleMania 2 last February, and followed up with a decision win over Michael Page at BKFC 27 last August.
Rockhold was competing for the first time since his UFC exit. His final fight with the promotion was a Fight of the Night unanimous decision loss to Paulo Costa at UFC 278. The former champ decided to try out barenuckle boxing, but couldn’t get out of the second round against Perry.