{"id":816361,"date":"2026-07-21T12:48:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T12:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/816361\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T12:48:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T12:48:18","slug":"why-lorenzo-hunt-doesnt-see-mike-perry-returning-despite-bkfc-91-appearance-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/816361\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Lorenzo Hunt Doesn’t See Mike Perry Returning Despite BKFC 91 Appearance [Exclusive]"},"content":{"rendered":"

If it were up to BKFC president David Feldman<\/a>, Mike Perry would have already made his way back into the bare-knuckle ring. Feldman continues to exude confidence that Perry, who remains under contract with his promotion, will return after a one-fight stint with Most Valuable Promotions MMA.<\/p>\n

The ‘King of Violence’ has remained largely non-committal on his future since his recent detour. But after months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, Perry resurfaced at BKFC 91 in Naples, Italy, potentially signaling an imminent return to bare-knuckle boxing.<\/p>\n

Perry’s appearance ended with an in-ring face-off with Lorenzo Hunt, who called him out for the second consecutive fight after stopping Walter Pugliesi to win the inaugural BKFC ironweight title.<\/p>\n

Face-to-face and ready for more. Are we finally going to see Lorenzo Hunt vs. Platinum Mike Perry?\ud83d\udca5\ud83d\udc40<\/p>\n

\u27a1\ufe0f #BKFC91<\/a> | Replay available anytime on TrillerTV! pic.twitter.com\/gFb4lDztG3<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 TrillerTV (@Triller_TV) July 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite the callout and face-off, Hunt is not sure that Perry will return to the BKFC.<\/p>\n

The pound-for-pound king knows that Perry is good for business and has been a big part of BKFC\u2019s growth in the last five years. Perry has yet to win a bare-knuckle world title, but he became the promotional \u2018King of Violence\u2019 with a second-round TKO win over Eddie Alvarez in December 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yet, \u2018The Juggernaut\u2019 believes that Perry\u2019s status as the \u2018King of Violence\u2019 is the leading\u00a0reason why\u00a0he will not return to the BKFC. Hunt called\u00a0the promotional tactic \u201cembarrassing\u201d for Perry, whom he claims he has already \u201cpunked\u201d without even fighting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that it’s embarrassing to hang around on,\u201d Hunt told KO on SI. \u201cI think that they promoted him too fast as the King of Violence when there’s this big Juggernaut dude in the room that’s very, very violent. You know what I mean? So, it’s hard to promote a guy as the King of Violence when he got punked by the guy who is actually very violent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lorenzo Hunt \u201cokay\u201d with never fighting Mike Perry\u00a0\"Mike<\/p>\n

Dec 16, 2017; Winnipeg, Manitoba, USA; Mike Perry before fighting Santiago Ponzinibbio during UFC Fight Night at Bell MTS Place. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Perry did a fine job of defending his ‘King of Violence’ title with his dominant win over Nate Diaz in MVP. The 34-year-old hardly showed any holes in his game while torturing the fan-favorite Diaz for 10 minutes before the latter’s corner stopped the fight.<\/p>\n

However, Perry is coming up on a year since his last bare-knuckle fight, a fifth-round TKO win over Jeremy Stephens at BKFC 82<\/a> to defend the ‘King of Violence’ title. He has just two BKFC fights since the start of 2024.<\/p>\n

A Hunt vs. Perry fight could be the biggest matchup the BKFC could offer in 2026, with the \u2018King of Violence\u2019 title and the No. 1 pound-for-pound ranking on the line.\u00a0The matchup has always been teased to fans, including by Feldman at the beginning of 2026.<\/p>\n

But despite everything\u00a0potentially in\u00a0play, Hunt still does not see the fight ever coming to fruition. Hunt called himself \u201ctoo much\u201d for Perry in a bare-knuckle boxing fight, which he admitted he\u00a0was\u00a0\u201cokay\u201d with.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The fight]\u00a0was never there; it was a mirage,\u201d Hunt said.\u00a0\u201cI know Mike Perry. Mike\u2019s very smart. I know his camp,\u00a0his wife,\u00a0his\u00a0family\u00a0and\u00a0his coach. They were never\u00a0gonna\u00a0let him fight me. Never. They would\u00a0have\u00a0took\u00a0a vote, and the vote would have been,\u00a0hell no. They were never\u00a0gonna\u00a0let Mike Perry fight\u00a0me. And\u00a0I’m\u00a0okay with that.\u00a0He’s\u00a0a family man. You know,\u00a0I’m\u00a0a family man. We know each other.\u00a0We\u00a0solid. I just think that\u00a0I’m\u00a0too much for him.\u00a0Point blank.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mirage or not, Perry and Hunt are now one big step closer toward arguably the biggest fight the BKFC could make in 2026. The promotion has a couple of major events on the schedule in need of a massive headlining bout, including the BKFSea Bruise Cruise and BKFC 100.<\/p>\n

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