Mike Perry has re-signed with the UFC, more than five years after his last fight in the organization: he announced the deal on Friday, November 13, 2026, and his manager Malki Kawa confirmed it, but no date or opponent has been set for his return.
MMA Fighting reported that Perry officially announced the new deal himself, and MMA Junkie wrote that his management announced he is once again a UFC fighter. Ariel Helwani reported the signing per Kawa and wrote on X that no date has been set for Perry's first fight back, he was told.
How the return came to light
Bloody Elbow reported earlier on Friday that a new entry for Perry had appeared in the UFC's anti-doping history, first posted by Andy Hickey MMA, before Kawa confirmed the comeback. The UFC itself has not said when Perry will compete or who he will face.
There are also reports of a possible fight with Jorge Masvidal. X user Kevin (@realkevink) posted on Friday that Masvidal vs. Perry is in the works for a UFC card in Orlando in February, date to be determined, citing multiple sources. That is not confirmed: the UFC has announced neither an opponent nor a date. Kevin also noted that promoter David Feldman had said two weeks earlier, in an MMA Fighting interview, that Perry got an offer he could not refuse.
Perry's road back
Perry, 35, last fought in the UFC on April 10, 2021, when he lost a unanimous decision to Daniel Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 23. According to MMA Fighting, he went 7-8 in his first UFC stint and earned four post-fight bonuses, which matches the four bonuses (two Performance of the Night, two Fight of the Night) in our database. Our database lists him at 14-8 in MMA as a welterweight, a record that does not yet include his two 2026 bouts.
After leaving, Perry became the face of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. MMA Fighting reports he went 7-0 there and won the BKFC "King of Violence" title, with wins over UFC veterans Luke Rockhold, Michael Page, Eddie Alvarez and Jeremy Stephens. Bloody Elbow puts his BKFC record at 6-0.
He returned to MMA in 2026 and fought twice. On May 16, he beat Nate Diaz by second-round corner stoppage on the Netflix Rousey vs. Carano card at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. In August, he was set to face Dillon Danis at Duel Arena 1, but after Danis withdrew he fought Brandon Jenkins on two days' notice and was stopped in the first round. According to MMA Fighting, he suffered a nasty shoulder injury in that fight.
What it means for the welterweight division
Perry is one of the best-known names in combat sports outside the UFC, and his return gives the welterweight division a ready-made draw. Rodriguez, the man who beat him in 2021, is 20-6 in our records. MMA Fighting reports that he will face Roberto Soldić at UFC Dallas on January 16, 2027, after a 30-second knockout loss to Uroš Medić in August; the UFC has not officially announced that bout.
Perry's shoulder is the open question. With no fight date set, it is unclear when he will be ready to compete. Pugna MMA will update this story when the UFC announces his first fight.
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Sources
This article was generated with AI and may contain errors.