Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship made its highly-anticipated debut in London today with a massive crossover main event featuring Bellator MMA star Michael ‘Venom’ Page and former UFC star turned BKFC brawler ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry. The two fighters toed the line in an entertaining main event that saw Mike Perry come out on top after a rare instance where a sixth sudden death round was required.
As the opening bell rang, Perry sprang off the line, immediately swarming the London native. Page worked from the outside, but a lunging right hand from Perry caught the Bellator star, dropping him to the canvas with less than a minute left in the round. The strike landed clean, but Page quickly shook it off. The knockdown allowed Perry to take the first round of the contest.
Rounds two and three were much more competitive with Perry in pursuit while MVP attempted to utilize his length and reach advantage to keep ‘Platinum’ at bay. MVP started to land successfully in the third, opening up a couple of sizable gashes on Perry’s forehead.
In the fourth round, Mike Perry continued to walk down Page, but by then, MVP had his timing down and was able to effectively counter-strike. Going into the fifth and final round, Perry continued to bring the pressure, but Page was able to avoid any serious damage and clinch effectively until the final bell rang bringing an end to the crossover clash.
As we went to the judges’ scorecards, the bout was declared a split draw which under BKFC rules, both fighters would go to an overtime round. It was only the second time in BKFC history that a sudden death round was needed. As both fighters toed the line, Perry picked up right where he left off, pressuring and landing on the Bellator star. Starting to wear the damage, MVP looked visibly slower than in previous rounds.
In the end, Mike Perry walked away with a majority decision in BKFC’s biggest fight in promotional history.
What’s Next For BKFC After Mike Perry vs. Michael Page?
BKFC returns on Saturday, August 27th with BKFC 28 in Albuquerque, New Mexico with a women’s flyweight championship main event. Christine Ferea will defend her flyweight crown against fan-favorite Taylor Starling. In the co-main event, former two-time UFC title challenger John Dodson makes his BKFC debut against another former UFC competitor in Ryan Benoit.
The previously scheduled co-main event between Paige VanZant and Charisa Sigala was rescheduled at the last minute. That bout will go down in Denver this October as the BFKC 31 headliner.
Featured image credit to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship
MVP got robbed…