Mike Perry suffers stunning upset loss at Duel Arena 1
Despite being favored to win, Mike Perry was finished in round one by short-notice replacement Brandon Jenkins to cap off a weekend of upsets.
Mike Perry couldn't have had a worse Saturday evening had he tried. Not only was he finished in round one by a fighter of no renown who had stepped in on short-notice to face him, but he also ended his night with an injury, all of which served as the bitter end to a deflating experience that began during fight week.
Mike Perry had a weekend to forget
Duel Arena 1 was meant to host an anticipated fight between Mike Perry and Dillon Danis. The matchup was subject to a fair amount of hype, as Perry is a BKFC star and former UFC fighter with dynamite in both hands. Meanwhile, Danis gained infamy as a troublemaker on the Brazilian jiu-jitsu scene, getting hired as Conor McGregor's Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach, then having a frustrating combats sports career defined by inactivity, trash talk, and withdrawals across Bellator and other promotions. Unfortunately, the bout with Danis was axed this pas week after the latter no-showed the pre-fight press conference, then pulled out of the fight due to injury.
Perry, incensed, promised to take out his frustrations on his short-notice opponent, Brandon Jenkins, who he faced in a 175-pound catchweight bout. To make matters worse for Perry, Danis' withdrawal also led to the event organizers cutting his fight purse by 50%. However, things would only go from bad to worse. Early in the fight with Jenkins, Perry dislocated his shoulder before getting floored by a body kick, then TKO'd by follow-up ground-and-pound within two minutes of round one. It was a disappointing end to his night, but wasn't the only upset the weekend had to offer.
It is unlikely that Perry will pursue a rematch with Jenkins. Rather, he might look to rebook the fight with Danis at a later date, but given the latter's penchant for pulling out of fights, many have begun to wonder whether combat sports promotions will continue to do business with him if he cannot commit to competing consistently. Regardless, Perry still has his bareknuckle boxing career to return to, as he is currently 6-0 in BKFC, and has not yet fought for them this year.
