As far as Conor McGregor and his team at the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) are concerned, it’s time for Mike Perry to reveal his true intentions. It’s time to get down to business. With speculation surrounding Perry’s future in the promotion continuing to grow, CEO David Feldman addressed the situation ahead of the event in Newark.

“I don’t think so,” he replied when a reporter asked if Perry’s next fight will be in the BKFC. “I think I think he’s doing something else. And that’s okay. Look, Mike was good for us, and we were great for Mike, and you know, he may be moving on to some other things, and that’s okay.

“We’ll see. I mean, we’re in talks, but I think they’re going to have some news pretty soon about where he’s going.”

Feldman’s comments come amid growing uncertainty surrounding Perry. His most recent bare-knuckle fight came on October 4, 2025, when he stopped Jeremy Stephens in the fifth round to defend the symbolic King of Violence title.

A few months later, on May 16, 2026, he faced Nate Diaz in a mixed martial arts bout on Jake Paul’s inaugural MVP MMA card. Ahead of Perry’s proposed MMA fight against Dillian Danis, Feldman expressed similar uncertainty about the fighter’s plans.

“It’s funny. Nothing against Mike, but he says to me, ‘Let’s talk; we’ve got to talk about the money,’ and then he goes and says he’s fought for less money,” Feldman said. “What are we talking about? We’ll see. I know why he did it. It’s his hometown. He’s trying to prove something there.

“I wish him the best. I wish everybody the best. I hope the promotion succeeds. I hope they sell tickets. The hardest thing in this world to do in combat sports is sell tickets. I hope they get some good luck.”

Perry and Danis were scheduled to fight on August 29 in Orlando. However, the fight was cancelled after Danis pulled out. As a result, Perry headlined the Duel Arena card against Brandon Jenkins, losing in the first round via TKO.

Perry’s relationship with BKFC has also been complicated by his public feud with McGregor. Before his bare-knuckle win over Stephens, Perry returned to professional boxing to face Jake Paul on July 20, 2024. His six-round stoppage loss to the YouTuber-turned-fighter was followed by a much-publicized feud with McGregor, who declared that Perry had been fired from the BKFC.

While the precise terms of Perry’s contract remain unclear, reports suggest that he has two more fights left on his BKFC deal. A potential 2027 matchup against Darren Till has been discussed, though no agreement has been reached.

Mike Perry: One fighter, many battlefields

Outside the ring, Perry has also ventured into promotion. He launched the Dirty Boxing Championship (DBX) in 2024, and Jon Jones became a co-owner in March 2025 after expressing enthusiasm for the venture following its inaugural event.

Perry’s current situation differs from the way he left the UFC five years ago. On April 10, 2021, at UFC Vegas 23, he lost the bout to Daniel Rodriguez by unanimous decision, completing his UFC contract without a public feud.

Having lost seven of his previous 10 fights, Perry entered free agency, allowing his management to seek the most lucrative offer rather than accept a potentially lower-paying UFC renewal. BKFC ultimately secured his services with a financially attractive deal.

Perry isn’t the only BKFC fighter facing uncertainty over his future with the promotion.

BKFC flyweight champion John Dodson has publicly criticized his exclusive contract, claiming that prolonged inactivity prevented him from competing elsewhere. The promotions’ decision to eliminate its men’s flyweight division added further uncertainty for Dodson and interim champion Andrew Strode, potentially requiring them to compete at bantamweight.

Former multi-division champion Luis Palomino offers another example of a BKFC fighter pursuing opportunities outside the promotion.

After losing the bout to Austin Trout at BKFC 85 on December 5, 2025, Palomino entered mixed martial arts, contesting in former UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA.