Unrecognizable Eddie Alvarez makes 'love' admission after suffering brutal MMA injury
Eddie Alvarez may have suffered a gruesome injury in a thrilling BKFC clash with Mike Perry, but the taste of defeat did not sour the former UFC champ's love of the fight game.
Former UFC champion Eddie Alvarez was left with gruesome facial injuries after suffering a brutal defeat at the hands of Mike Perry in a bare-knuckle clash, but that did not change his opinion about the controversial sport. The former UFC stars faced off in a middleweight clash to headline the Bare-Knuckle Fighting Championship‘s event in Salt Lake City on Saturday.
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Perry, the No. 1 contender in the middleweight division after taking his BKFC record to 4-0, with Alvarez’s corner pulling him out after two hellacious rounds. The 39-year-old, who won the Bellator and UFC lightweight titles during a stellar MMA career, was left bloodied and bruised in his second BKFC bout after beating another former UFC star in Chad Mendes in April.
Sitting down for the post-fight press conference, Alvarez’s left eye was closed due to the huge swelling and bruising caused by Perry’s fists, revealing he had suffered a suspected eye socket fracture, but “The Underground King” took the opportunity to confess his love for the sport.
“I think bare knuckle is the fastest-growing sport and the world and it’s going to be. We’ll be No. 2 [in combat sports] very soon and I truly love this. I came out here and I was my best self and, I was on point, I was sharp, [but] unfortunately this sport is so volatile. You just don’t know, you could have the cleanest fight and I think my orbital smashed up and that’s all she wrote. It f****** sucks because it was a good show. I didn’t win, but the fans won.
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“My hat’s off to Mike Perry, the guy’s a f****** battle axe. He can take a shot, he can keep plodding forward and give them. He reminds me of myself and I was fighting a mirror of myself in there and Mike was the better man.”
The BKFC has soared in popularity since it was launched in 2018, with more than 8,000 people in attendance for Saturday's fights. However, some viewers have been put off by the brutality and damage caused without gloves.
Perry, 32, was a fan-favorite in the UFC, but he lost four of his final five fights with the promotion and he was cut in 2021. But the Michigan native has enjoyed a renaissance in the BKFC and after the fight he called out MMA icon Conor McGregor for a fight in the circular BKFC ring.
"I just beat somebody he fought for a world title,” Perry said. “Who’s bigger than that? There’s no one bigger than Conor McGregor except me. These boxers don’t want to take the gloves off. Darren Till said he doesn’t want to do it with no gloves. Who wants to fight Platinum Mike Perry with no gloves?
“I like to get hit a little bit sometimes. I like that s***. It makes me feel alive. I work on the head movement but the last one ended so easily, I just wanted to have a battle so I let him get some shots off. I had a great time. Eddie Alvarez is a hell of a competitor. Who owns combat sports now? The king of violence ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry.”
