Mike Perry Back in UFC Testing Pool Ahead of Octagon Return
Perry has reentered the UFC drug testing pool after five years away, with reports pointing to a deal the BKFC star could not refuse.
Mike Perry is heading back to the UFC.
Per the UFC's anti-doping test history database, "Platinum" has reentered the testing pool and has already been drug-tested once this year, per LowKick MMA and Championship Rounds. The move comes five years after Perry's last Octagon appearance, a unanimous decision loss to Daniel Rodriguez in April 2021 that closed out his UFC contract.
BKFC president David Feldman confirmed that Perry received an offer he "could not refuse." Feldman said Perry still has a good relationship with BKFC and the door remains open, but bringing him back right now "doesn't make a lot of sense" financially for the promotion.
Perry went 6-0 with four knockouts under the bare-knuckle banner, winning the King of Violence Championship in 2023 by knocking out Eddie Alvarez. He also boxed Jake Paul in 2024 in a fight that earned him top dollar. Earlier in 2026, Perry returned to MMA at MVP MMA 1 and stopped Nate Diaz after two rounds.
His most recent bout did not go as planned. Fighting under the Dual Arena banner, Perry suffered a first-round TKO loss to last-minute replacement Brandon Jenkins after dislocating his shoulder.
Perry's UFC record sits at 15-8. He won just one of his final five Octagon appearances before leaving the promotion, but the years since have turned him into one of combat sports' most bankable names. No opponent or event has been announced.
This is the right call for everybody involved. Perry left the UFC on a skid, but he did not leave the sport. He went to BKFC and became the biggest draw in the building. He knocked out Eddie Alvarez. He fought Jake Paul and cashed the biggest check of his career. He came back to MMA and finished Nate Diaz. The shoulder injury against Jenkins was a freak deal, not a sign of decline.
The UFC heavyweight and welterweight divisions both need characters who move the needle, and Perry moves the needle. Dana White has always liked fighters who bring energy and sell tickets, and Platinum does both. The question is where they slot him. At welterweight he is a tough out for anybody outside the top five. At 185 he is undersized but dangerous. Either way, the first fight back should be a name people recognize. Give him a co-main on a Fight Night card and let him remind everyone why they started watching in the first place.
