This past Saturday at UFC Vegas 23, “Platinum” Mike Perry (14-8) and Daniel Rodriguez (14-2) kicked off the main card on ABC. Rodriguez was looking for the biggest name win of his career while Perry was desperately needing a bounce back win.
Mike Perry has been an interesting character for the UFC. His fighting style has always been entertaining and he knows how to draw attention. However, not all of the attention he’s drawn over the last year has been positive.
In fact, some of the outside the cage issues has just been a PR nightmare for the UFC. However, after the birth of his son late in 2020, Perry said he was rededicated to the sport. He started training at MMA Masters along with former UFC interim champion, Colby Covington.
Saturday was going to be a big test to show where he was at. Well, Perry was completely outclassed on the feet on Saturday. Daniel Rodriguez’s speed was too much for Perry and he repeatedly busted Perry up with stinging shots.
Perry showed some promise when he switched to his wrestling at UFC Vegas 23. “Platinum” was able to land a couple of takedowns, but he couldn’t get significant control time at any point. Ultimately, Rodriguez earned the decision victory with a very impressive performance.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 23?
Two fights into his UFC career, Mike Perry was 9-0 overall. He looked like he was going to be someone who could be a contender in the welterweight division. He suffered his first loss to Alan Jouban, but then he bounced back with two big wins.
In late 2017, Perry took on Santiago Ponzinibbio and he was 11-1 overall. Starting with that fight, Perry is just 3-7 in his last ten fights in the UFC. After Saturday night, he posted on Instagram that he doesn’t know what happened to him.Â
Perry also acknowledged that he only has one fight left on his UFC contract. I don’t see the promotion cutting Perry with one fight left, but his next fight is truly do or die when it comes to Mike Perry being in the UFC.
If he can come out and deliver an insane performance, perhaps the promotion brings him back on a short-term deal. However, if he suffers another loss, we may never see him inside the octagon again.
So, what should the UFC do with Perry? Well, there are a lot of option in the mid-tier of welterweights, but there is one option that I like for Perry’s next matchup.
One matchup I would watch is the winner of this weekend’s matchup between Jacob Malkoun (4-1) and Abdul Razak Alhassan (10-3). Whoever wins that matchup would want a step up in terms of name and Perry would fit the bill.