Platinum Mike Perry at Welterweight
Believe it or not, it was less than four months ago that ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry made his UFC debut. Fast forward just two fights later and Perry already finds himself in the prestigious spot of FOX main card opener. When this Saturday night he takes on fellow talented rising Welterweight Alan Jouban.
More than that though, Perry enters riding a huge wave of momentum that he’s gathered in a shockingly short amount of time. Whilst still surprising, in hindsight Perry was really someone we should’ve been paying some attention to before he even stepped foot in the octagon for the first time.
Perry’s debut took place on the huge UFC 202 main card, so it’s easy to understand why ‘Platinum’ flew under the radar. As the MMA world was collectively infatuated with the enthralling Conor McGregor Nate Diaz rivalry. However, on paper at least, Perry had all the makings of a serious prospect to be watched closely.
Less than two years
Even though Perry was less than two years into his professional career. The 25-year-old was undefeated at 7-0 with all of his wins coming by knockout. Perry’s opponent that night would be South Korean knockout artist Hyun Gyu Lim. A fighter that had shown his dangerous striking before inside the octagon. Understandably, Perry was the underdog.
It didn’t seem that Perry had put much thought into the odds though as he came out aggressively. Using hard low kicks as he looked to find his punching range against the bigger Lim. After almost two minutes of action, Lim would walk onto a hard right hand that Perry had thrown with startling force. Lim showed heart though and fought through some ground and pound to get back to his feet.
Just as every seasoned MMA fan began to mentally question whether or not Perry had overexerted himself. He would drop Lim again, this time launching a devastating right hand after steadying himself against the fence. Lim was once again admirable in fighting back upright but he was quickly finished as Perry closed the show with a well-timed left hook.
Making a serious Impact
In less than four minutes, Mike Perry had made a serious impact and announced himself as a very real, very dangerous prospect. Perry’s momentum would continue too as he quickly got back in the octagon. Fighting against England’s Danny Roberts less than two months later in Manchester, England.
In a quite spectacular fight, Perry’s pressure brought him a huge amount of early success as he rocked Roberts multiple times in the first round. Roberts showed incredible grit and courage though. And came back stronger in the second, using hard straight left hands to stunt the seemingly tiring Perry.
Perry’s Immense Aggression
After some more incredible back and forth action in the third round. Perry’s immense aggression finally captured him the victory as he brutally ended the fight with just twenty seconds remaining on the clock. It was a thrilling fight and Perry had come out the violent victor in his opponent’s home country. Less than two months following his UFC debut and Perry was 2-0, his 100% knockout ratio maintained too.
A benefiter of the UFC’s continually growing quantity of events. Perry is an example that young prospects can indeed still stand out in the quite over-saturated sea of UFC fighters. An exciting fight style and unique personality have already got the prospect some attention. But this Saturday night we find out a lot about how good ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry truly is.
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