Nick Diaz, Tyron Woodley, and Anthony Pettis were supposed options for Mike Perry's Duel Arena 1 debut

Mike Perry was originally scheduled to face Dillon Danis in an MMA bout at Duel Arena 1 this past Saturday. However, after Danis pulled out of the matchup, a short-notice replacement was needed, and according to the man who stepped up, Brandon Jenkins, there were more high-profile options than him on the table.

Mike Perry's weekend could have gone differently

Duel Arena 1 was a complete disaster for Mike Perry. During fight week, he learned that his scheduled opponent, Dillon Danis, had withdrawn from the fight due to a leg injury. Then, 50% of his purse was cut by the promotion due to Danis' withdrawal. It was a headscratching decision from the promotional brass, but a short-notice opponent was found in regional journeyman Brandon Jenkins. However, what should have been a comfortable win for Perry turned out to be the opposite, as he dislocated his shoulder and was subsequently TKO'd by Jenkins, all within two minutes of round one.

It was a massive upset, but if Jenkins is to be believed, he almost didn't get the call to fight Perry at all, which ended up being the biggest opportunity of his career. As he spoke to MMA Fighting following his win, he revealed that the likes of Nick Diaz, Tyron Woodley, and Anthony Pettis were considered ahead of him, but none of them were ready to step in on such short-notice (0:47):

"I'm happy he brought me in here and he picked me, because I heard Nick Diaz got the call, and then I also heard Tyron Woodley, and I also heard, who else, Anthony Pettis. So, I got picked.  So, I'm happy about that."

Diaz would have made for an interesting option from a narrative standpoint, as Perry had previously beaten the former's younger brother, Nate, at MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano, TKO'ing him in round two. So, a chance to avenge his younger brother, especially as such a big name, would have surely drawn fan interest. Meanwhile, both Woodley and Pettis are former UFC champions, having reigned in the welterweight and lightweight divisions respectively. Woodley just returned to the win column for the first time since 2018, as he recently competed at RAF 12, where he beat Joaquin Buckley in a freestyle wrestling match.

Pettis, by contrast, hasn't competed in any capacity in two years, as he last suffered defeat in a boxing match with Chris Avila, who beat him via unanimous decision at Diaz vs. Masvidal 2: Last Man Standing. So, he was in no condition to be stepping in on short-notice.