Mike Perry’s brutal bare-knuckle boxing career includes blistering 60-second KO and gruesome injuries – now he faces Jake Paul

Jake Paul’s next opponent Mike Perry is one of the best bare-knuckle boxers on the planet.

After leaving the UFC in 2021, Perry signed a multi-million dollar deal with American bare-knuckle boxing promotion, Bare-Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC).

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The Michigan brawler has taken to the sport like a duck to water and currently boasts an unblemished 5-0 record including wins over some colossal names from the world of combat sports.

Here, talkSPORT.com takes a closer look at those fights ahead of his cruiserweight boxing bout with Paul on July 20.

UD win vs Julian Lane – February 19, 2022

Perry could have picked a far easier opponent to make his debut against than Julian Lane.

The bare-knuckle boxing veteran had already competed nine times in the sport by the time they squared off at Hollywood’s Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino including a win over six-time four-weight BKB world champion, Jimmy Sweeney.

Yet despite this, Perry looked like the more experienced operator on fight night.

A huge right hand in the opening thirty seconds caused Lane to touch down and from there Perry stuck it all over him.

To Lane’s credit, he survived to see the final bell but ‘Let Me Bang’ was caught on unsteady legs multiple times over the five-round distance en route to a unanimous decision loss.

MD win vs Michael ‘Venom’ Page – August 20, 2022

Perry’s next assignment was a nip-and-tuck affair with Michael ‘Venom’ Page at London’s Wembley Arena.

Like his previous outing, Perry decked Page in the opening stanza, but the Brit rebounded well in the second round.

The next three frames were extremely competitive with Perry forcing Page onto his heels while the UFC welterweight star jabbed and moved.

At the end of the fifth round, the judges couldn’t separate the bloodied and bruised competitors, so the fight went to a sudden death round to determine a winner.

When the final bell rang, the judges favoured Perry’s unrelenting pressure over Page’s slick boxing as ‘Platinum’ was given the nod on two of the three scorecards.

TKO R2 win vs Luke Rockhold – April 29, 2023

Perry secured the first stoppage win of his BKFC career against former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold.

After getting rocked in the first round by a crisp left-straight, Perry responded by buckling Rockhold’s knees with a left hand of his own.

When the bell rang for the second round, Perry went back on the offensive and landed several clubbing blows that forced Rockhold to throw in the towel.

After the fight, Rockhold revealed that Perry had chipped his teeth and torn his lip open.

The gruesome injuries proved to be too much for him to handle.

TKO R2 win vs Eddie Alvarez – December 2, 2023

In Perry’s fourth BKFC outing, he fought former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez for the symbolic ‘King of Violence’ title.

Alvarez had beaten Chad Mendes via split decision in his maiden bare-knuckle boxing appearance and battered Perry from pillar to post in the opener.

However, by the second round, ‘The Underground King’ was starting to feel the pace after struggling to dispatch Perry early doors.

With his opponent’s output lowering, Perry began to find his target and at the end of the second round, Alvarez retired on his stool with his vision obscured by the claret running into his eyes.

TKO R1 win vs Thiago Alves – April 27, 2024

Perry moved to a perfect 5-0 with a destructive first-round TKO win over former UFC welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves.

The Brazilian MMA star had previously stopped Ulysses Diaz to become the inaugural BKFC middleweight champion, but was no match for Perry.

A sharp left hook sent Alves tumbling to the canvas in the opening 45 seconds.

He made his way back to his feet, but struggled to stand up straight and stumbled into the ropes after referee Dan Miragliotta asked him to take a side step.

This left the veteran official with no choice but to wave off the contest after just 60 seconds.