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On Saturday, top-ranked Bellator contender Michael "Venom" Page and 15-time UFC veteran "Platinum" Mike Perry will clash in a bare-knuckle boxing contest that absolutely no one saw coming but that has the potential to be one of the more memorable contests in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship history.
BKFC 27 marks the first time in London for the upstart Philadelphia-based promotion, and BKFC president and founder David Feldman said he's thrilled to be hosting an event where the sport of bare-knuckle boxing first gained notoriety in the late 19th century.
"It's amazing to be here in London, England," Feldman said at a press conference promoting the event. "The fans here are fantastic. The fighters here are some of the best in the world.
"The true birthplace of bare-knuckle fighting is right here in the U.K., and it's great to be able to bring this massive show to the Wembley Arena here this Saturday night, Aug. 20. I'm just super excited that I get to bring this promotion here and show some of the best combat sports fans in the world Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, what it is, and they get to see it in person and truly become a fan of this amazing sport."
Courtesy of BKFC
Page, a kickboxing specialist, has been a fixture of the Bellator brand for the past eight years, delivering multiple highlight-reel finishes along the way. Meanwhile, Perry fought under the UFC banner from 2016 to 2021, engaging in numerous scrappy brawls and developing quite the reputation for his wild antics out of the cage, as well, before leaving the promotion to pursue other fighting opportunities.
In June, the two were revealed as the BKFC 27 headliners in a surprise announcement, and Page and Perry now clash Saturday at OVO Arena Wembley, in a bout that streams globally on the BKFC app (1 p.m. ET).
Page, a London native on loan from Bellator for the special one-off appearance, is competing in bare-knuckle boxing for the first time but believes a lifetime of training in the striking arts has him well prepared for the challenge.
"I've not had too much adaption," Page said. "For me, my style in itself is already something that's going to be awkward for anybody to deal with. I can be underestimated a lot because of how I make my opponents look, and I'm looking to do the same thing here.
"I know a lot of people are for me just because of the hype that I have around me, but there's a lot of people against me, and I'm looking forward to proving them wrong, but I am super-psyched about this fight. Super excited."
Meanwhile, Perry made his BKFC debut in February, scoring a decision win over fellow UFC veteran Julian Lane in a barnburner, and he says he's spent the time since then focusing on lessons learned from that experience.
"I've been training based off what I learned from the first fight, and I'm looking forward to figuring it all out in the ring with all the work that I've put in over the past five or six months," Perry said. "I mean, I've got a great opponent. He thinks the same way I do about it–he's very excited about the fight. That just tells me that he doesn't know what's coming for him. I'm going to sneak up on him, and I'm going to get him."
Launched in 2018, BKFC sees athletes compete in a circular ring for five two-minute rounds. Wrists are taped for support, but knuckles are left bare. This year, alone, the promotion has hosted domestic events in Florida, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska and New York, as well as internationally in Thailand.
While the organization is investing in developing homegrown talent, Feldman also relies on bringing in proven stars from other combat sports to gain exposure for his company. Page and Perry certainly fit that bill, and Feldman believes the contest will certainly deliver on entertainment value.
"They're going to take their gloves off, and they're going to try and beat the hell out of each other on Saturday night in front of all the fans here, and I just can't wait for these fans to see what this sport is all about," Feldman said.
