Eddie Alvarez believes he has ‘unfinished business’ with Mike Perry in bare-knuckle boxing.
The former UFC lightweight champion beat Chad Mendes in his BKFC debut before setting up a scrap with Mike Perry to crown an inaugural ‘King of Violence’ champion BKFC 56 in December 2023.
Eddie Alvarez hit ‘Platinum’ with everything he had before their fight was called off after four minutes.
Perry was unmoved and ‘The Underground King’ had picked up a nasty eye injury that led to his corner pulling him out of the contest at the end of round two.
Mike Perry vs Eddie Alvarez 2?
On January 25, Eddie Alvarez will throw down with ex-UFC fighter Jeremy Stephens at BKFC KnuckleMania 5, which will take place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Perry is still looking for a comeback opponent after falling short in a boxing bout with Jake Paul last July.
UFC superstar and BKFC co-owner Conor McGregor joked about Perry being ‘fired’ after his loss to Paul.
However, the fact he hasn’t been offered a fight since has left the scrappy American concerned that his firing was real – but BKFC boss Dave Feldman has assured that Perry will return to action very soon.
The man McGregor knocked out to make history at UFC 205 would be more than happy to welcome Perry back to BKFC.
“Could be. Could be, man,” Alvarez told Home of Fight.
“Mike, look, we have some unfinished business. I couldn’t go on in the first one, but I was beating his a** pretty good for a good solid three, four minutes before I had to retire the fight.
“But maybe so, man, maybe so.”
Eddie Alvarez frustrated by old rival
Michael Chandler went 1-1 with Eddie Alvarez in title fights before making the switch from Bellator to the UFC.
The former three-time Bellator champion has endured a tough run since he transitioned to the UFC where he has suffered four defeats in six Octagon appearances.
‘Iron Mike’ has impressed fans with his wild fighting style, but his old rival has been frustrated watching his performances inside the Octagon.
“If you ask him, he’s underperformed,” Alvarez recently said.
“He’ll know the reason for that or whatever the reasons are, but for sure I think he has all the tools to win the UFC title. It’s a matter of whether he uses the tools he has, and I don’t think he has properly, and I don’t know why.
“It’s very frustrating for me to watch because I know what he’s capable of, and what kind of grit and champion spirit he has.
“I think it’s more of him tweaking the way he fights and using the weapons that he has. He just doesn’t use them, and it’s frustrating for me to watch, to be honest with you.
“I think it’s frustrating for a lot of people who are fans of him who want him to win because he can. He just doesn’t use the stuff that God’s given to him. He doesn’t use his wrestling at all, and it’s very dominant. He’s a very strong guy.”
“Let’s let him fight again, and if he’s on the same trajectory and he loses again, he can maybe get cut, and then just come over to Bare Knuckle and let’s do it with no gloves. I think that’s the kind of violence this world needs right now.”
Jordan Ellis
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