Read about the memorable BKFC 41 event where Mike Perry defeated Luke Rockhold in a second-round TKO. Find out how Conor McGregor’s presence added to the excitement and Joe Rogan’s thoughts on a potential bare-knuckle fight between Perry and McGregor. Plus, watch a video of their staredown in the ring.
BKFC 41 this past April was the most memorable in the promotion’s short five-year history. Headlined by a bout between Perry and a debuting former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, the pair battled it out in the main event en route to a second-round TKO for Perry. Rockhold was rendered unable to continue after a punch broke his front tooth.
Another former UFC champion made their BKB debut In the evening’s co-main event when Eddie Alvarez took on three-time UFC title challenger Chad Mendes. The matchup was enough to draw intrigue from “The Notorious” McGregor, whose wins over each are two of his biggest career highlights. Flying out to Denver mid-event to catch the action, McGregor stuck around until the end, leading to an impromptu staredown with Perry in the ring.
“He was moving all over the place, and I stood my ground,” Perry said on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. “I stood so still, and I couldn’t be wavered or moved. He was moving all over the place. I mean, that says that he was free in that moment to do so, obviously. But it was me respectfully calling him out, which shows the professional in martial arts that I have been for so many years. How do you call a man out in a sport that he has a family and you guys want to hurt each other and they can honor it in a fair way and promote it to be entertaining?
“I mean, everything he does, people watch that s***. So, it was great to have him there. It really boosted the moment for me.”
The surprise inclusion of the megastar was massive for BKFC and captured the attention of the entire combat sports world during that weekend. McGregor’s involvement in fight scenes outside the UFC is nothing new as most will remember his crossover boxing match against Floyd Mayweather in the summer of 2017.
Pondering the concept of an actual fight when speaking with Perry, UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes it would be quite the spectacle.
“If he decided to do that. … If somehow or another they [UFC] gave him the green light to do that, I can’t imagine how that could ever happen, but if it did. … If that happened in a bare-knuckle fight, that would be f****** bananas,” Rogan said. “He’s a very good kicker [too], he can do everything, but if somehow or another he agreed to fight bare-knuckle, I mean, Jesus Christ, you know how big that would be? That would be wild.
“If they did that in bare-knuckle, it would get a million pay-per-view buys at least. Probably more.”
