Mike Perry never backs down from a challenge even if he’s not the person who’s supposed to be fighting.
The former UFC welterweight turned BKFC star traveled to Russia this week to corner his friend and teammate Alex Nicholson but it was Perry who nearly got into a brawl during a heated press conference on Tuesday.
The altercation came after Perry stared down Russian heavyweight Magomed Ismailov but what started with smiles and some friendly trash talk ended with the fighters being separated after punches were thrown.
According to Perry, the incident exploded after he used a word commonly used as just an expletive in the United States but apparently Ismailov took it another way, which led to the near brawl in the middle of a television studio.
“I almost got jumped in there,” Perry said on Instagram. “Luckily, people was breaking it up. But in Russia if you call someone a motherf*****, they think you’re talking about someone’s mom so then the whole team coming to get you. But in America when you say motherf***** it’s like normal words. It’s normal. I’m not talking about your mama, chill bro.”
Even prior to traveling to Russia, Perry anticipated that something crazy could happen.
Appearing on The Fighter vs. The Writer to call out Nate Diaz for a bare-knuckle fight, Perry talked about his willingness to step into enemy territory where he would likely be outnumbered.
“The whole fighting community knows what fighting Russia means,” Perry explained.
“We’re going to one of the most dangerous countries in the world to fight one of the most dangerous men in the world and it’s me and my bro versus everyone over there.”
Thankfully, the promoters behind the event were able to intervene before a full on brawl broke out but Perry appeared ready to throw down once tempers flared with Ismailov.