VIDEO | Mike Perry Predicts He’ll Treat Ponzinibbio Like He Did Gunnar Nelson

Mike Perry just cracked into the bottom of the welterweight rankings like he’s been cracking his opponents, now his next fight is against ninth-ranked Santiago Ponzinibbio. The hard-hitting contender will look to catapult himself up into the standings and he’s not lacking confidence. He saw Ponzinibbio take out a big name in Gunnar Nelson and thinks that he can take him out just the same. To Perry, it’s just another one of the many blessings he’s enjoyed so far.

“I seen that fight with Gunnar Nelson and it’s just another blessing, man. I guess I love that word, huh? It’s just a true thing that so many good things happen to me. It’s the fight I want. I got a game opponent that steps forward. We all know I come forward. I come to fight. I’m down to take one or two just to land one good one. Santiago [Ponzinibbio] is going to move forward and I’m going to hit him and we’ll see what happens when that happens. It’s kind of redemption for me to beat the guy, who beat the guy, who beat the guy.”

Some fighters are actively building their exit strategy from the brutal world of MMA. @PlatinumPerry, he’s got different ideas. #UFCGdansk pic.twitter.com/VpVbS8AGYy

— MMAjunkie (@MMAjunkie) October 20, 2017

“People thought Gunnar Nelson was definitely the next champ. For sure. His ability in the Octagon, ground game, striking, trains with Conor McGregor — the super notorious biggest fighter in MMA, the biggest draw, the money man — and he’s right there with him. Calm and relaxed. That’s a weird thing that he has, how clam and relaxed he is that people fear. And here comes this Argentinian and he knocked him out in the first round and I’m going to do the same to him. It’s funny how the world turns.” — Mike Perry speaking to Dan Hardy. 

I’m here. This is real ! #15 in the world ! I speak from experience. My threats are valid ! If you hate it’s cuz you nervous Ima back it up https://t.co/yV9OdzxRjA

— Platinum Mike Perry (@PlatinumPerry) October 21, 2017

There’s a certain poetry in Mike Perry’s matter-of-fact turns of phrases. It’s hard to take Perry serious sometimes, especially wearing a big furry hat. Sometimes it’s unclear if he really means or believes the things he says, or if he’s trying to get a reaction. One thing that is completely clear though, is that Mike Perry is game to fight anyone and has the bull rush power to get the job done against anyone if they aren’t on their game. Mike Perry will face Santiago Ponzinibbio at December’s UFC Winnipeg event.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 10/21/2017.