When Mike Perry shows up somewhere, the people around him start making assumptions, reaching conclusions. That happens when you have tattoos on your face, when you’re not shy about speaking your mind, when you make a statement just by walking through the door. That’s how it has been from the beginning for Perry, since he made his UFC debut in August 2016, less than two years into his professional career.
If it was too much, too fast, Perry will never say, but few thrive in the world’s premiere fight organization under such conditions. At two years in, few are close to complete mixed martial artists, yet Perry has found a niche for himself as one of the promotion’s top action fighters, a bite-down-on-your-mouthpiece bomber who often seems incapable of stepping backwards.