Mike Perry was set to face Thiago Alves in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night Pittsburgh, but then Alves was pulled from the fight.
The welterweight slugger has a feeling that the longtime UFC fighter is simply ducking him.
“Sometimes, I’ve got to watch what I say, because I scare these guys away,” Perry told MMA Junkie. “I don’t know if I scared Thiago. I might have. They posted (my knockout of Jake Ellenberger) this week and said it was the ‘Knockout of the Week.’ He might have seen that and replayed it in his head.”
Alves is going to be replaced by Alex Reyes in the fight, who is making his UFC debut on just three days’ notice.
Even though he is facing an opponent on three days’ notice, the welterweight striker knows he is facing an opponent with solid skills.
“He’s a black belt, and he must think that that’s good enough for him to come in here and exit this fight safely and out of harm’s way,” Perry said. “But you lock that door with me, man, you all know what to expect.”
UFC Fight Night Pittsburgh takes place on Saturday, September 16 from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with Luke Rockhold and David Branch headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on Fox Sports 1.
