Last night (Sat. April 27, 2024), Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) made its first stop in “The Golden State,” hosting the BKFC: “KnuckleMania 4” event from Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California. BKFC: KnuckleMania 4 is quite a mouthful, so let’s skip to the point and say it plain:
Last night was the Mike Perry show.
“Platinum” certainly knew it, dancing toward center stage in a bizarrely fluffy and purple walkout outfit. In the ring, Perry was jubilant even prior to the ring announcement, shadowboxing combinations as fast he possibly could. That’s an unusual temperament for the BKFC circular ring, where even victorious fighters are nearly guaranteed to shed blood.
Perry seemed genuinely thrilled to be there, main event opposite a respected veteran of the game and former BKFC champion. Thiago Alves is the man, an OG of combat sports with 20 years of battle in his back pocket. Perry knew, however, that “Pitbull” was no match for him in the year 2024.
The fight lasted a moment, as bareknuckle bouts so often do. Perry showed some body jabs, advanced behind a right, then floored Alves with a hard left. The Brazilian regained his feet slowly and unsteadily, and the referee opted to save him even after he made the count. Fans eager for wanton bloodletting probably weren’t happy, but it was the correct call (watch highlights).
As soon as Alves hit the canvas, the obvious question emerged: what’s next for Mike Perry? He’s the sport’s biggest star by a considerable margin, but he’s not the undisputed champion. The current belt-holder at 185-pounds — where Perry has mostly fought in bare knuckle — is Lorenzo Hunt, who suffered a broken arm chasing Heavyweight gold just a few minutes before Perry’s big win.
Could that be the fight to make? Convince Hunt to diet back down and defend his belt? Getting Perry real gold is an okay angle, sure, but it doesn’t change the fact that most people don’t really know “The Juggernaut.” It’s not a matchup that generates amazing amounts of attention.
Perry gave two real answers himself in his post-fight interview: Nate Diaz and Darren Till. Perry vs. Diaz in BKFC is possible, and it would sell a boatload of pay-per-view (PPV) buys (or break illegal streaming records). The problem is that I cannot figure a reason Diaz would want to get his scar tissue torn open by Perry when he could instead fight Jake Paul in PFL for a vastly bigger paycheck.
More money to face an easier opponent is simple economics, and Diaz knows the game too well to do something stupid like box Perry at his peak on home “Platinum” turf.
That leaves Till, who’s now been freed from UFC’s roster for about 16 months. His last appearance resulted in a “Fight of the Night” battle to Dricus Du Plessis, a defeat that has aged pretty well. Since scoring free agency, Till has been linked to influencer fights and Russian boxing, but nothing has actually materialized.
This is so obviously the next step for Till, who checks all the necessary boxes. For one, he’s talented enough not to (likely) get ran over in 60 seconds. He’s well-known and could carry his half of the main event. Most important, Till and Perry have a long and complicated frenemy relationship, which could boil over if an actual contract was signed.
Now is the time.
When the two were beefing in 2017, Perry was unranked while Till was about to secure his first title shot. When Till left Welterweight and Perry started losing cage fights, it seemed like the fight would never materialize.
Seven years later, Perry is atop the BKFC world, and Till needs a major stage for his comeback. It’s a perfectly reasonable match up for all parties involved, one that could produce the biggest BKFC card yet.
Let’s not waste anymore time in getting it booked.
For complete BKFC KnuckleMania 4 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
