EXCLUSIVE | Mike Perry reacts to Felder fight, says ‘Cowboy’ was offered the chance to step in

If things had gone according to the original plan, Mike Perry would have stepped into the cage with Yancy Medeiros at UFC 226 on July 7. Regrettably, Medeiros was sidelined with an injury just days out from the fight, which left Perry without an opponent, and the UFC with the frantic task of finding him a new dance partner.

Ultimately, the UFC called on lightweight contender Paul Felder, who recently lost an opponent of his own, to step up and meet Perry at welterweight. For a fleeting moment, however, it looked like Perry might collide with Donald Cerrone on the card — a man he’s recently been training with at Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque.

“He was ready, man,” Perry said of Cowboy on the latest episode of BJPENN.COM Radio. “They offered it to him, but he happens to be suspended [from his fight with Leon Edwards], and he’s got that cut over his eye. I knew the Las Vegas state commission would not allow that with that fresh cut like that. ‘Cause I was damn sure gonna go for it.”

Although Perry was excited about a possible fight with Cowboy, he’s more than happy to fight Felder, too. He reminds that his last fight with a beefed-up lightweight — a September 2017 fight with Alex Reyes — ended in violent fashion. 

“He’s gonna come swing it out,” Perry said of Felder. “We’re gonna have a little kickboxing with our fight, in the Octagon. We all know what happened last time I fought a lightweight. I’ll take it. I’ll take that paycheck.”

All that being said, however, the opponent isn’t all that important for Mike Perry. As long as there’s a warm body on the other side of the cage come fight night, he’s happy.

“It doesn’t matter who the opponent is, man,” he said. “It really doesn’t. I’m not inclined to take one person’s life more than the next. It’s just whoever comes in there to fight me. I gotta cut that pay check. We cashing checks and breaking necks”

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 6/29/2018.