Perry leaves to find focus
Says New Mexico gym suits his style
To find focus as a fighter, Mike Perry knew he needed a change.
The welterweight, an Apopka native had lost two UFC fights in a row – the last one to Max Griffin in February at Amway Center – and in the aftermath of that fight, he decided that new scenery, new coaches and a new training regimen were necessary if he was to continue his growth.
So he packed his stuff, left American Top Team Orlando and moved to Albuquerque, N.M., to join the fabled Jackson-Wink MMA gym. He said the team’s focus on a more striking-based approach fit where he is as a fighter.
He’ll put his new training to the test for the first time Saturday night when he meets Paul Felder at UFC 226 in Las Vegas. The fight, originally scheduled to air on FS1, has been moved to the pay-per-view portion of the card, which begins at 10 p.m.
“I like [Jackson-Wink trainers’] will to throw down, their style of kickboxing, the way they want to fight all flashy,” Perry told the Sentinel on Wednesday. “My boys back home are better grapplers. They just prefer to grapple more, grab guys and throw them against the cage. I don’t really do that, so I had to meet someone who was going to teach me to fight more the way I want to fight.”
Perry said hitting mitts has become a much bigger part of his training with Frank “the Tank” Lester at Jackson-Wink.
“I was doing mitts every day [during this fight camp],” Perry said. “I was doing them maybe once a month or once every two months in Florida -- I was just doing my own thing on the bag then. Frank pushes me. It’s going to make huge difference.”
Perry had been scheduled to fight Yancy Medeiros on Saturday, but he was injured last week and Felder stepped in on short notice. Perry said there was some bad blood between him and Medeiros, but not as much with Felder.
“[Felder] bought me some pizza in Pittsburgh after I knocked out Alex Reyes [last September],” Perry said. “I’m going to knock him out and buy him some pizza.”
Perry came into Orlando’s UFC Fight Night in February full of confidence. He was the biggest betting favorite on the Amway Center card and maybe the biggest crowd favorite as well, but he ended up battered and bloodied in a unanimousdecision a loss.
Perry says now that he didn’t take Griffin lightly – he just got off to a slow start that night and couldn’t recover.
“I didn’t really warm up well in the back,” Perry said. “I was worried about my cardio … I didn’t want to break that first wind in the back, which is exactly what I needed to do. I warmed up in the fight. Max was on point in the first. I was doing better in the second, but then I got knocked down … and then my hands were up in the third and I came after him, so I finally got warmed up.”
Perry said he believes Griffin ran away from him in the third round, content to get a decision instead of going for a finish. That approach didn’t sit well with Perry, who has two Performance of the Night bonuses for spectacular finishes in his UFC career.
“[Some fighters] play this little system, the points, to come poke you and move out of the way,” Perry said. “My pressure is still a dangerous aspect in this game no matter what kind of point system these kids want to play. I’m going to win the way I know how. Everybody loves my fights because I just get out there and go for it. I’m not trying to go out there and move for 15 minutes. I’m lazy. Give me 5 minutes. Five minutes and I’m going to ruin his life.”
Perry said he still plans to revisit family in Orlando and train here occasionally, but the West is his home now. He’s thinking of moving to Las Vegas after this fight is over, but no matter where he ends up, he’s living the dream.