Mike Perry is to the bare-knuckle boxing what Conor McGregor is to MMA. The respective sport’s crown jewel by a mile! But since the BKFC is still finding its feet, the problem ‘Platinum’ faces at the moment is a lack of opponents worth his time. Chances are, if you have heard of the promotion at all, it would not be because of the former UFC fighter but because of the Irishman who also happens to be a co-owner of the company. You may perhaps even struggle to name one other fighter on the entire roster, which is of course not from the UFC.

This means that Perry has an acute shortage of anyone exciting he could fight within the promotion. There are plenty of fighters in the BKFC, just none whom fans would pay to watch fight Perry. So what does ‘Platinum’, who last fought in the BKFC last April, do? Well, Jeremy Stephens who is scheduled for an anticipated return to the UFC against Mason Jones at UFC Des Moines has thrown his name in the hat. But Perry has much more loftier plans and has cast his net outside the BKFC. ‘Platinum’ is reaching for the (metaphorical and literal) stars.

“You know, I’d like to face Jake Paul in dirty boxing, or Conor McGregor in bare knuckle or in dirty boxing. And, you know, people are like ‘Oh you’re calling the money fights.’ But that’s the thing, it’s like I’m a money fight. These guys who only make twenty-five grand to fight, they’re calling me out. That’s fine. I get that the only guys who want to fight me in bare-knuckle are the guys who are in the bare-knuckle. And their names’ not moving the needle. My fight, my next fight, it will move the needle,” Perry said in an interview with ‘MMA Fighting’.

As far as Stephens goes, ‘Platinum’ doesn’t want to go down weight classes to fight him, as the former had asked, so that seems off the table. Perry, of course, fought Jake Paul on short notice in a boxing match last July. While his toughness and warrior spirit were on full display against the much bigger Paul, ‘The Problem Child’ knocked him out in the sixth round. And Perry wants to run it back with the celebrity boxer, but this time on his turf.

That is a great matchup for both men. Paul is one of the biggest (and most hated) names in the fight world, and certainly qualifies as a ‘needle mover’. The former Disney is also in the market for his next opponent. Canelo Alvarez was in talks with him to finalize a fight, only to blindside Paul by signing a four-fight deal with ‘Riyadh Season’. But what about McGregor? Well, things are a bit more complicated when it comes to the Irishman.

Insider’s explosive claim about Conor McGregor being green-lit for BKFC fight by the UFC

Conor McGregor still has two fights left on his current UFC contract. This means he cannot fight in the BKFC unless Dana White gives him a waiver. So that surely means that ‘Mystic Mac’ is off the table as Perry’s next opponent, right? Well, UFC analyst and thorough company man Chael Sonnen made some explosive claims last month which are worth looking at.

“I just got a call from a very very inside source,” ‘Uncle Chael’ told fans urgently in a video on his YouTube channel in February. “Now this might be all over the websites already, maybe you guys know this. I’m driving, I just got a call, I haven’t seen it anywhere- Conor McGregor has been green-lit to compete in bare-knuckle fighting.”

Now, to be fair, there haven’t been any more rumors, revelations, or reporting on the subject since Sonnen’s comments. This could mean that ‘Uncle Chael’ is just wrong. Or, there may be something going on in secret in the background, which the UFC has kept under wraps.

Either way, we know where the bombastic Irishman stands on fighting in the BKFC. “If you think I’m up here giving these speeches and leading these men into battle and I won’t step in there myself, think again. For sure. Conor McGregor will fight in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship – mark my words,” ‘Mystic Mac’ thundered at a BKFC press conference in February.

So if there is a chance that Dana White allows him to do so, Conor McGregor would probably jump at the prospect of fighting Mike Perry. Especially since it would make the BKFC stock price, and thus McGregor’s personal fortune, go up significantly. What do you think about Mike Perry calling out ‘Mystic Mac’ and ‘The Problem Child’ for his next BKFC fight?