Eddie Alvarez expects his speed to be a problem for Mike Perry.
Alvarez meets Perry in the main event of BKFC 56 on Dec. 2 in Salt Lake City.
Perry has found success in the BKFC ring, going 3-0 with wins over Julian Lane, Michael Page, and most recently a second-round TKO of ex-UFC champ Luke Rockhold this past April. Alvarez thinks Perry’s toughness got him by in those fights, but says that’s an attribute he won’t outmatch him in.
“Mike’s tough as hell,” Alvarez told Middle Easy. “A lot of people say, ‘Mike don’t move his head … Mike don’t do this.’ He makes up for a lot of the lack of his stuff with his toughness, his grit, his will – that kind of stuff.
“He cleans it up with that. But when you’re going against another fighter like myself, who has all that, and all of them boxes are checked, then you’re going to have to rely on your skill and your game plan, and something more than just grit and will to get you by.”
One the same night Perry beat Rockhold, former Bellator and UFC lightweight champion Alvarez won a split decision over Chad Mendes in his bare-knuckle debut.
Alvarez plans on putting a beating on Perry until the referee waives the fight off.
“He’s too slow, I’m going to hit him too much,” Alvarez said. “I respect Mike Perry and what he does and his resilience, (but) I’m going to hit him too much, too often, too hard. If he don’t stop fighting, I think the ref’s going to stop him from fighting.”
