Luke Rockhold playfully sunk in a rear-naked choke on Mike Perry during the first faceoff of the BKFC 41 fight week.
On April 29, Rockhold and Perry will headline BKFC’s star-studded event inside the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The fight week festivities kicked off with a press conference on Thursday evening.
Once they were done answering questions, the former UFC fighters came face-to-face for the first time since ‘Platinum’ picked his nose and wiped it on Rockhold. Perry came out showing off a custom-made championship belt and pretended he was going to hit Rockhold.
Rockhold reached for the belt, and Perry pushed his hand away. The former UFC middleweight champion continued to reach out and antagonize ‘Platinum,’ with the latter refusing to back down.
Perry began showing off his custom-made championship belt, which seemed to start aggravating his upcoming opponent. Rockhold tried to grab the belt and jokingly sunk in a rear-naked choke when he missed. The BKFC 41 headliners shared a laugh before parting ways.
Rockhold last fought against Paulo Costa at UFC 278 in August 2022. Despite his valiant effort, the 38-year-old suffered his third consecutive loss. The California native requested his release from the UFC, leading to his signing with BKFC.
Meanwhile, Perry has found tremendous success since leaving the UFC in 2021. ‘Platinum’ has secured wins against veteran boxer Michael Seals in Triad Combat and Julian Lane in BKFC. He last fought in August 2022, securing a majority decision in a bare-knuckle boxing fight against Bellator’s Michael ‘Venum’ Page.
Your #BKFC41 headliner right here!
Mike Perry and Luke Rockhold stare each other down, and Perry offers to let Luke Rockhold take a photo with the belt. pic.twitter.com/O63L3cfv4E
— TrillerTV (@FiteTV) April 27, 2023
Who is fighting before Luke Rockhold and Mike Perry at BKFC 41?
Luke Rockhold isn’t the only superstar making his BKFC debut on April 29. In the co-main event, Eddie Alvarez looks to find success without gloves as he takes on Chad Mendes. Alvarez spent his last four fights with ONE Championship before amicably parting ways with the promotion.
‘The Underground King’ will have a bare-knuckle experience disadvantage as Mendes won his BKFC debut with a fourth-round knockout in February 2022. BKFC 41 will feature several other UFC veterans, including ‘Big’ Ben Rothwell, Bec Rawlings, Chris Camozzi, Dan Spohn, and Josh Copeland.
Check out the entire BKFC 41 fight card below:
