On September 16, when the UFC touches down in Pittsburgh, PA, rising welterweight slugger “Platinum” Mike Perry will look to take another big step up the ranks with a win over former title challenger Thiago Alves.
Perry discussed the matchup on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, telling host Kinch that he grew up watching Alves, but has no problem beating him up. In fact, he believes nobody has ever decisively defeated Alves, and hopes to be the first man to do so.
“I grew up watching Thiago, trying to do things the way Thiago did some things,” he said. “He was one of my favorite fighters when I was younger. He’s never really been beat up. He’s been in tough fights and wars and stuff like that, but nobody’s ever just like ran through Thiago Alves, you know? So that’s cool. That’s respectable, commendable, all those things. But there’s a first time for everything.”
“I’m expecting him to try to kick my legs, a lot, and move out of the way,” Perry continued. “That’s not the Thiago that’s gonna do well against me, the one that moves away. I mean he did well [in his last fight] against Patrick Cote like that, but Patrick’s slow. It was like me versus Hyun Gyu Lim, Patrick was too big. I’m not going to let Thiago sit there and beat on my leg until I can’t move. I’m going to get up in his face and crush him from the inside. Maybe some elbows, some punches, some knees…”
advertisement – continue reading below“There’s a couple ways the fight could go,” Perry added, when asked for a prediction. “It could be another Danny Roberts [fight], a war like that. We could both be beat up, bloody, working in there. Or even better, I think I’m going to come out and crush him, man, fast. I’m not even going to play. I’m going to come out, waste some energy, get in his face, and hit him as hard as I can, as soon as I can.”
Whatever happens, Perry is keen to win because he believes a win over an established foe like Alves will do wonders for his career.
“I think so because Thiago is a great opponent,” he said. “He’s been in the UFC for twelve years. They don’t give him the credit he deserves. I don’t know where he is on the ranking system, but he said he wanted to fight me and I definitely wanted that fight, so I’m going to take this fight and I’m going to propel myself with it.
What’s your prediction for UFC Pittsburgh’s Thiago Alves vs. Mike Perry scrap?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 8/3/2017.