UFC's Mike Perry seen on video punching man, dropping multiple racial slurs at restaurant
A video of an incident involving UFC fighter Mike Perry emerged Wednesday, reportedly captured Tuesday night.
In the video, Perry can be seen walking out of a restaurant after an apparent dispute, asking if the police have been called on him and arguing against pleas for him to leave the premises. Perry gets more heated as the video goes on, eventually telling an older man he’d knock him out shortly before a physical confrontation.
Perry can be seen punching the man, who immediately falls to the ground. Things naturally escalate from there, with Perry screaming he didn’t do anything, challenging the restaurant to call the police and using racial slurs multiple times.
The UFC has since condemned his actions, and informed him that he will not be offered a fight for the foreseeable future.
Warning: The following video contains very NSFW and offensive language.
Mike Perry in a bar fight last night over someone “touching him”.
This is pretty disgusting behaviour from a UFC calibre fighter. Acting like a complete child. pic.twitter.com/ZAuxZTtXtW— MMA Eejit 🇮🇪 (@MMAEejit) July 8, 2020
ESPN’s Marc Raimondi confirmed the incident took place at Table 82 in Lubbock, Texas. Officers from the Lubbock Police Department reportedly responded to the scene. Perry was not arrested and no charges have been filed, but the investigation is still reportedly pending.
Perry appeared to address the incident on Twitter after the video emerged.
No comment
— Platinum Mike Perry (@PlatinumPerry) July 9, 2020
Perry has been seen using racial slurs several times in the past, and has defended his use of the word by saying a DNA test showed he is 2 percent Black. Unsurprisingly, that excuse hasn’t been accepted by some in the Black community, though it has never led to any discipline from the UFC.
The closest precedent the UFC has to the apparent assault might be Conor McGregor’s punching of a bar patron for insulting his whiskey brand in 2019, though McGregor was out of the UFC when that happened.
Perry is less than two weeks removed from his victory over Mickey Gall on June 27, in which he captured headlines by having his girlfriend manage his corner. In his career, Perry is 14-6 and has been with the UFC since 2016.
UFC condemns Mike Perry’s actions
The UFC issued a statement on Thursday afternoon, acknowledging that it had seen the video and was troubled by Perry’s actions.
Perry, the UFC said, “will not be offered a bout” at this time. He is also planning to seek professional treatment, after which “next steps” for him will be evaluated.
“The conduct displayed by Perry is not reflective of that of our organization,” the UFC said, in part, via ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. “Perry apologized for his behavior ad acknowledged he was disappointed with himself that his actions may have reflected poorly on UFC. He further acknowledged that he believes he has some issues related to alcohol abuse and has informed UFC that he has committed to immediately seek professional treatment, including substance and behavioral counseling.”
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