Mike Perry, currently focused on promoting Dirty Boxing 2 which is scheduled for this Saturday in Miami, recently took time to train with former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland.
Leading up to the second official Dirty Boxing event, the BKFC star traveled to Las Vegas and ended up training at Xtreme Couture gym. There, he participated in a tough round of sparring with Strickland.
Perry commented on the training session, stating, “We’ve talked about it a few times and I went out of my way to make it happen. I had to go to Vegas. Obviously he’s the big name and ‘Platinum’s’ got his own name, his own power going on, but that was kind of my choice to make and I made sure I wrote him and contacted him and we talked. I sent him my number, he hit me up and [he’s] such a great guy.”
Strickland even extended invitations beyond training, suggesting activities like riding dirt bikes and shooting guns in the Las Vegas desert. However, Perry explained he didn`t have the time for those, only managing to fit in the sparring session. “You guys got sparring at 10 a.m. on this day? OK, I’ll be there,” Perry recounted.
The main event for Dirty Boxing 2 will feature former UFC heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik in his promotional debut against Power Slap and BKFC veteran Devon Schwan.
Perry was involved in co-creating Dirty Boxing, aiming for the ruleset to reflect his relentless, pressure-heavy fighting style. He believes he effectively showcased this approach during his five-minute spar with Strickland.
Describing the experience, Perry said, “I showed up, I went, I did some warmups. I did a round with someone else, and then I did a round with Sean—who’s very big by the way. He’s got, at least, 35 pounds on me and it was nice to see his his style and how he is and and feel some of those punches. Obviously that’s a Platinum pressure style that I had to use to get myself close to him to even try to make contact.”
Perry noted Strickland`s defensive approach. He also highlighted his own tactic of tiring opponents by blocking or absorbing strikes. He admitted that being in shape but facing the elevation in Las Vegas without specific preparation for the five-minute round with Strickland was challenging, but he went ahead and did it.
Regarding his own fighting future, Perry mentioned that there are potential plans in the works, but nothing concrete to announce yet. He expressed frustration about his prolonged period of inactivity, as it has been nearly 14 months since he last competed in BKFC and almost a year since his boxing match loss to Jake Paul.
Perry is no stranger to negative comments from fans and revealed he received some after sharing details of his spar with Strickland. His straightforward response to critics? Get in there and spar with Strickland yourself and see what happens.
Perry challenged the online commenters, saying, “Obviously, he’ll work with you probably, because most people don’t want to go for Sean Strickland for five minutes, and if they did, we would see what would happen to him. Any of those punches that I had to take just to roll off the shoulder would have dropped a lot of folks that are in the comments talking. But I wanted to give you guys the entertainment and show you guys, and it was cool to spar Sean, man. I like his capabilities.”
He further elaborated on the potential impact of his style over longer rounds: “Imagine if I have the cardio to go three, five-minute minute rounds with him? That pressure of me blocking those punches with my forehead. I’m going to make you so tired, you’re going to look for a way out. I don’t care who you are. And Sean will put you out and I’ll put you out too.”
He concluded with a message to the critics: “So don’t be hating and I’m out here elevating. I’m lifting people up.”
Wesley Dunham 
Marcus Blakely